Hearts of Glass, Steel, Fire and Ice
by jylener22
Summary: Journeys can often lead to periods of self-discovery and personal development. However, usually these changes happen so gradually that the traveler is not even aware they are happening. In Orihime's case, her journey to find her childhood friend will bring out the jewel that is her soul and polish it until it shines brighter than any star in the sky.
1. Prologue

Hearts of Glass, Steel, Fire and Ice

Oftentimes, people will say when the winter wind blows they swear they can hear a mournful voice moaning on the wind. When children ask their parents who the lady is who is crying so loud outside, the parents wisely calm their children simply saying that the children are only imagining things that it's only the regular wind outside trying to get inside now go back and finish setting the table for dinner.

However, little do the wise and knowledgeable parents understand that their children are actually right. There is a lady who rides upon the cold yet strong North Wind bringing the blessings and curses of winter with her. And as she passes by homes inhabited by those same families, she will oftentimes look inside the frost covered windows and sing in her low, melancholy voice to the occupants of that same residence, though only the children heed her song.

She is the Snow Queen.

**Author's Note:**

Ok, so I am posting the Prologue of this story here for two reasons.

1) This is a new story idea that I have been absolutely itching to get to for the past week and I am just really anxious to get started.

2) By posting this and getting started on a new story and not wanting to let it go unfinished for too long should hopefully put enough of a fire under my behind to force me to finish Danser before I take this story any further. Now don't get me wrong, I still want to finish the story it's just that with work being really busy and a little dramatic right now (nothing too serious), I've not had a lot of time to do any writing.

So, basically I am trying to give myself some motivation to finish my other projects, like a carrot held in front of a horse or something. Hope you guys don't mind.

Now, I guess I had better give a little explanation before I just go but if you haven't guessed by now, this story will be based upon the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale 'The Snow Queen'. Just like with 'Transforming Love' I will be taking some liberties with the story and I hope that you enjoy the journey through this story along with me as we go forward...as soon as I finish my other projects! :)


	2. Boy Who Protects, Girl Who Brings Joy

Hearts of Glass, Steel, Fire and Ice

"Good morning Ichigo!"

The twelve year old boy's eyes snapped open and he had less than a split second to react before he registered a large palm about to smash into his face. Rolling himself off of his bed and onto the floor, Ichigo kept rolling and knocked into a pair of man-sized legs, which he remorselessly barreled into. As he had hoped, the owner of the legs lost his balance and fell with a loud thump onto the floor.

"Owie! Ichigo! How could you do that to your own father?"

From his spot on the floor, Ichigo sat up, crossed his arms and said unconcernedly, "I could ask you the same question."

Before any more words could be exchanged, the bedroom door opened once again to reveal a woman's head as she looked around the door to see what was going on. When she saw the grown man lying on the floor in tears and the young boy sitting up showing no signs of remorse, she mouth twitched upwards ever so slightly before she managed to compose her features into a neutral expression.

"If you two have finished your morning bonding routine, then Karin, Yuzu and I would love to have you both join us for breakfast."

Instantly, the grown man leaped to his feet and said delightedly, "Oh Masaki! You are the light of my life!"

Masaki smiled at her husband and said, "And you, my dear Isshin, make my life more interesting."

Ichigo could only roll his eyes as his father bounded out of the room squealing like a little girl about to receive a beautiful new doll. He went about getting himself dressed when he heard three words for the second time that day.

"Good morning Ichigo!"

However, at the sound of this particular voice, Ichigo's mouth turned up slightly at the corners as he finished pulling his shirt over his head and opening his window all the way so that he could lean out slightly and face the owner of the voice.

"Hey Orihime."

A girl about Ichigo's own age was leaning against the frame of her window, waving and smiling in her usual cheerful fashion. Ichigo's smile stretched a little farther as he returned the wave.

Orihime pushed a wayward strand of hair behind her ear as she called over, "Sounds like your father is very energetic this morning."

Ichigo rolled his eyes and sent a scowl in the direction his father had gone as he replied, "No more so than usual. Why can't the big oaf just let me wake up like any other kid?"

Orihime blinked and half stated, half asked, "You don't like him waking you up like that."

Crossing his arms, Ichigo asked, "How would you like it if Sora snuck into your room at the crack of dawn and tried to kick you in the stomach? Or like what my dad did just now and screamed loud enough for half the town to hear while trying to give you a black eye?"

Rubbing the back of her head, Orihime said sheepishly, "Well, when you put it like that, I guess it doesn't sound very pleasant. All though, it would be nice if sometimes Sora would come into my room and tell me 'Good morning' in such an enthusiastic manner. He's always sleeping though since he works so late."

Ichigo was about to apologize, when Orihime quickly started waving her hands in front of her face and speaking quickly, "I didn't mean to sound like I am complaining! Sora being a part of the Night Watch is a very good thing and he loves the work! It also gives me time to get things ready during the morning so that when he wakes up I can give him a nice meal and the house is all cleaned up, so it works out for the best!"

Just as he was about to respond, Ichigo felt his stomach rumble and apparently it was loud enough for Orihime to hear as well since she called over hurriedly, "I'm sorry for keeping you from your breakfast for so long! Please go and eat!"

Giving one last wave and smile, Ichigo said, "I'll see you a little later then."

"All right!"

Breakfast in the Kurosaki residence was a peaceful affair in the sense that no dishes or furniture were broken, all though at one point Ichigo did half consider sending a forkful of eggs over in his father's direction when the older man asked his son about what he and Orihime were going to do later on that day.

A few hours later, once Ichigo had done all of his daily chores, he called out a brief farewell to his family, ran outside and went around to the side of the house where there was a little gap between the Kurosaki and Inoue residences.

The town in which both families lived was called Karakura Town and the street on which they lived held a number of hard-working middle class families. A few streets to the left was the poor district while a few streets to the right held the wealthier and more influential families.

Karakura Town was surrounded by a large wall that had to be guarded at all times since to the north was the Arrancar Forest and to the south was the Shinigami River. Even though Karakura was a part of the Kingdom of Souls and their king, Genryusai Yamamoto, had ruled in peace for over thirty years, the people were always on their guard since the town had been attacked in the past so easily and unexpectedly from either the forest or the river and they were determined not to let it happen again.

All able bodied men were required to take a regular shift during the day, but it was those who were a part of the Night Watch who had the most important jobs since most surprise attacks happened at night. Because they couldn't keep a regular trade during the day, for the most part, the men of the Night Watch were paid decent salaries so that they could support themselves and any family they might have.

In about a year or so, Ichigo would be old enough to begin taking his turn guarding the wall and he was strongly considering becoming a part of the Night Watch. All men of the Night Watch were required to take extensive combat training and learned much about the skills of fighting and warfare so that if Karakura Town was ever to be attacked, there would be men skilled enough to lead the others into battle in defense of everyone's lives and homes. The idea of becoming a protector of Karakura Town appealed greatly to Ichigo since his father and mother had said many times that his name meant 'one who protects'.

Ichigo and Orihime had grown up together and were often seen wandering around town side by side. More often than not, they would go to Urahara's Shop, located about two streets over on the left hand side where it was the poorer district. They would go there and spend hours either helping around the shop (usually the owner, Kisuke Urahara, would make some comment about needing a certain chore done and Orihime would immediately volunteer and so then Ichigo would grudgingly agree as well because he had been brought up well by his parents) or listening to Urahara or Tessai tell stories about history or even folk tales and legends.

Once Ichigo was outside, he leaned against the wall of his house and waited for Orihime to come out. He didn't have long to wait and he heard her approaching with her usual skipping gait.

The moment she turned the corner, Orihime beamed at Ichigo and said brightly, "I'm ready!"

And with that, Ichigo pushed himself away from the wall and walked out into the street with Orihime walking next to him. Orihime bounced a little on her feet as she walked, tending to put most of her weight on her toes rather like a dancer would, while Ichigo walked casually with his arms folded behind his head. They walked along in companionable silence for a time until Orihime spoke up.

"Ichigo, what would you like to be when you grow up?"

There was no hesitation as Ichigo replied, "Part of the Night Watch. I'll be old enough to start training in about two years."

Orihime looked at him before she said, "Oh, I see."

Turning his head to look into Orihime's eyes, Ichigo asked, "What is that supposed to mean?"

Shaking her head and waving her arms in front of her quickly, Orihime said, "I'm sorry! That was rude of me!"

Rolling his eyes, Ichigo said, "You weren't being rude, Orihime. I can tell you were surprised by my answer and I just want to know why."

Orihime said slowly, "I was just surprised because I thought you would make a good doctor. You could work together with your father and take over from him."

Ichigo grimaced as he said, "I know what you mean Orihime, but that's the last thing I want to do. I deal with my dad enough as it is, but if I had to learn how to be a doctor like him and work alongside him…to me, it sounds like the worst thing ever. Old goat beard would probably try and sneak up on me when I'm dealing with a patient just to make sure my reflexes were good and that I could concentrate properly even if there were major distractions around me. No thanks. At least as a part of the Night Watch, I could learn how to fight and then maybe I could finally beat that old goat so bad that he would quit doing dumb stuff all the time."

Turning to Orihime, Ichigo asked, "What about you? What do you want to be when you grow up?"

Orihime looked thoughtful before she answered slowly, "I want to be someone who can bring happiness to others. Find a way to bring people together and have them all get along with each other."

"How are you going to do that?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Orihime said, "I'm not sure yet, but I'll figure it out someday."

As the boy who wished to become a protector and the girl who wished to give others happiness walked along side by side, little did they know that their dreams would soon become a reality and be put to the test…and in a way neither could have anticipated.

**Author's Note:**

So, as I said before, this story will be based on the fairy tale 'The Snow Queen' and right now I will tell you who three of the characters are going to be in this story:

Orihime-Gerda  
Ichigo-Kay  
Rukia-The Snow Queen

Beyond that, I'm not going to tell you any more characters because I want them to be something of a surprise!

Anyway, I already said this but I will be making some alterations to the original story just like I did with 'Transforming Love' because I have fun doing that and things are less constrained that way. I can alter the story and have it move towards the same finish but in a slightly different way than how Hans Christian Anderson did it.

Hope you enjoy this journey with me and as always, if something doesn't make sense or if you have any suggestions for things or characters you would like to see, don't hesitate!


	3. Fairy Tales and Promises

Hearts of Glass, Steel, Fire and Ice

Being creatures of habit, Orihime's footsteps eventually led to the front steps of Urahara's Shop and Ichigo followed along after her.

Also out of habit, Orihime called out as she approached the threshold, "Good morning!" in her usual cheerful tone to which there was a just as cheery reply from the back room telling the visitors to come in.

In the back room of the store, Kisuke Urahara had a ledger open and seemed to be taking inventory. While he seemed to give off an air of breezy carelessness, the shop owner was impeccably dressed with a crisp white shirt, pressed pants that were slightly wrinkled from the work done so far that day and a deep purple apron protecting his clothes from dust and dirt.

As soon as he saw Orihime, Kisuke's smile widened as he said, "Well, well, well. You'd think I'd be used to you both dropping by my humble establishment so often, but it is always a pleasure to see you two come walking through my door each and every time."

Orihime's cheeks were a little pink as her smile widened and she replied, "Looks like you are in high spirits today, Mr. Urahara. We came by to see if there was anything you needed us to do today."

Giving Orihime and Ichigo a knowing look, Kisuke replied, "I know what you're after, Miss Orihime, and I will most certainly finish telling you that story that we started yesterday if you would help me out by dusting off the shelves and products."

Immediately, Orihime picked up a dust rag and set to work while Ichigo spared a moment to give Kisuke the usual 'I-can't-believe-you-make-us-do-work-for-free' scowl before he set to work alongside Orihime as usual. With both of them working (Ichigo making sure that he was the one who used the ladder to reach the top shelves) it took only about a half-hour for them to finish. When they had finished, Tessai seemed to come out of nowhere laden with the usual tea tray and exchanged pleasantries with Orihime and Ichigo before everyone sat down for tea.

Taking a sip of his tea, Kisuke gave a sigh and said, "As tasty as always, Tessai. However, it seems to me that when our young friends come over around tea time for whatever reason a wider variety of goodies seem to appear on the tray. Interesting, don't you think?"

Giving his employer a blank, polite look, Tessai replied evenly, "That is very interesting, Boss. I wonder why that might be?"

Before either man could carry on the banter, Ichigo cut in saying, "Would you quit it already? You left Orihime hanging yesterday with that story and now she can hardly sit still waiting for you two to knock it off and finish the stupid story."

Face flushing, Orihime tried to stutter out an apology on Ichigo's behalf as well as for her not being able to show more patience, but Kisuke cut her off when he smacked himself on the forehead in mock recollection as he said, "I knew I was forgetting something. Well, Orihime, I don't remember what the story was or where we left off."

Trying to compose her voice, Orihime replied, "You were telling the story of how the Princess of Snow and the Knight of Fall met as children and became really good friends. As they grew older, though, the Minister of Shadows took notice and decided to see just how strong their friendship truly was."

Nodding his head and settling himself more comfortably with his cup of tea in hand, Kisuke went on with his story:

While the Princess of Snow had dominion over the night sky and the Knight of Fall was guardian of the daytime, the Minister of Shadows could move freely and effortlessly at any time of day since there are always shadows cast by the light of both the moon and sun. However, the Minister of Shadow had to be careful about planning his little trick as the King of Spring did not take kindly to those who might cause harm to his younger sister, however innocent or petty the cause or reason.

At the time, all the guardians of the seasons, weather and so on were able to freely move about the world and interact with one another as well as directly influence and be a part of their human charges' lives.

One day, the Princess of Snow and the Knight of Fall met in their usual spot beside the Shinigami River and a human boy and girl saw them both and joined them. They talked for a time and were content to wade and play on the shore of the river, none of them noticing the Minister of Shadows watching them from inside the Arrancar Forest.

Without warning, a large blue panther attacked the young teenagers. They tried to get away, but the panther pinned down the human girl and was about to strike when the human boy threw himself into the path of the panther's claws to save her. The boy was tossed aside and he moved no more.

The panther then charged for the Princess of Snow which caused her to stumble, fall and strike her head against a stone. As she lay senseless on the ground, the Knight of Fall valiantly tried to come to aid, but was not fast enough to stop the panther from picking up the Princess and piercing through her chest and back with its long fangs before tossing her away like it had with the human boy. Then the panther bounded away and melted into the Arrancar Forest as suddenly as it had appeared.

Even though the Princess of Snow was an immortal being, the Knight of Fall swept her into his arms and rushed to the Lady of Water's home as the Princess had been gravely wounded. The human girl gathered the human boy into her arms and cried over him since he had sacrificed his life to save hers.

The Emperor of the Heavens witnessed these proceedings with a heavy heart, all though he was quite blind to the Minister of Shadow's role in the whole affair. Immediately, the Emperor called together a Council of the Guardians and declared that from that day forward none of the guardians were to interact with one another unless their domains directly influenced one another and even then, contact was to be minimal. Also, they were no longer to directly interact with the humans.

At this news, all the guardians were greatly shocked and began to protest until the Count of Prophecy foretold that things would return to the way they were when a human boy looked into the eyes of night and shadow and showed no fear despite the threat of death and a human girl was able to relinquish the deepest and most desperate desire of her heart.

Kisuke finished his story by saying, "And that is why the guardians have never been seen by human eyes to this very day," then he took a long sip from his teacup.

Hearing a loud sniff, Ichigo turned his head to see Orihime's eyes swimming and positively overflowing with tears. When she saw Ichigo looking at her, Orihime hurriedly tried to mop up her face with her sleeves.

Speaking in a slightly bored tone, Ichigo said, "There's no use trying to get rid of the evidence now, Orihime. Besides, it's not like I haven't seen you cry before so don't worry about it."

Sniffling, Orihime replied in a shaky voice, "But it's just so sad! The poor Princess and that boy! My heart hurts thinking about all the pain the Minister of Shadows inflicted on everyone that day. And all just to play a trick! It wasn't even a trick! It was an evil scheme and cruel!"

Putting his hands behind his head, Ichigo said, "You're right about that. The guy obviously couldn't be real because no one is that twisted."

Kisuke looked at Ichigo with an unreadable expression as he said, "I wouldn't be too sure about that, if I were you."

Before Ichigo could say anything else, Kisuke stood up and said breezily, "Well, this has been quite a fun tea time and I do thank you profusely for all your help, but I do have more chores to get done around here. You two should go back outside as it is a lovely day."

Two minutes later, Ichigo and Orihime were out wandering the streets of Karakura and eventually their footsteps led them to the gate of the wall. After talking to the guards for a few minutes, Ichigo and Orihime made their way outside Karakura Town and down a ways until they sat down on the banks of the Shinigami River. They both knew why they had made their way to that spot and so neither one felt the need to break the silence just yet as they collected their thoughts and took in the sight of the water moving along.

Leaning back on his hands and looking over at Orihime, Ichigo spoke first saying, "Hey Orihime."

Turning her eyes on him, Orihime responded with, "Yes Ichigo?"

His eyes taking on a serious glint, Ichigo said somberly, "No matter what, I'll always protect you. I promise."

She didn't laugh or scold or say anything for a time. Returning his gaze, Orihime could see that he meant every word and her heart responded to his declaration.

Turning to face him fully, Orihime said just as sincerely, "And I promise that despite any hardships that we may face that I will always make you happy."

"Ichigo! Orihime!"

Both children turned around at the sound of their names and saw Masaki Kurosaki waving at them and making her way over in their direction with a basket dangling from her arm.

Getting to his feet, Ichigo said to Orihime, "Mom must have brought us lunch. Race you there!"

As they ran, both Ichigo and Orihime were so caught up in the thrill of racing each other and the prospect of a delicious meal on the way that they didn't realize the danger they were in until it was too late. When they saw Masaki look at something off to their left in shock and horror before dropping the basket and running as fast as she could towards them, Ichigo and Orihime turned to see what had startled the woman only to freeze in utter terror.

A large, blue panther was bearing down on them and the first thought that entered Orihime's head was that this was just like the story Kisuke had just told while the first thought that crossed Ichigo's mind was that he had to protect Orihime at all costs.

"Orihime run!"

Unfortunately, neither Ichigo nor Orihime could seem to force their legs into motion. Ichigo could only manage to extend his arm out in order to push Orihime squarely behind him and brace for impact. About ten paces from them, the panther crouched and jumped which caused Ichigo to shut his eyes.

When he heard the sound of a muffled cry, ripping clothes and a loud snarl, Ichigo's eyes flew open in time to see his mother viciously thrown through the air by the panther's claws.

In that moment, something erupted in Ichigo's mind and for the next few moments he had no control over his actions. He charged headlong at the panther, waving his arms and screaming at the top of his lungs. For whatever reason, the panther paused for a moment before turning and running back towards the Arrancar Forest.

It took Ichigo's brain a few moments to process what had just happened, but soon he collected his thoughts to remember that his mother had jumped in front of the panther first and as he turned around his eyes met with a heart wrenching sight. His mother was lying in a crumpled heap and he found his gaze filled by the sight of blood slowly seeping from gashes across her neck and chest and the lifeless, glazed look in her eyes.

Ichigo had been told by his mother and father many times that his name meant 'one who protects'. He had promised Orihime that he would protect her, but he had failed and his mother had paid the price.

In that moment, Ichigo's mind told him that he would never forgive himself and that he would never again be truly happy.

**Author's Note:**

So, just in a bit of explanation, instead of labeling them as gods, Rukia and the other are guardians of different seasons, places, objects, emotions and so on. Rather like gods, but not quite the same as no one will be worshipping them.

Maybe you can figure out who some of the guardians are if you care to try.

Anyway, the whole Masaki incident really had to happen for a specific and you'll see why in the next chapter. I try to write substantial chapters, but then again I let them come to their natural conclusion in my mind so sometimes they don't turn out all that long.

Hope you enjoyed this part and weren't too depressed by Masaki's death, plus as always let me know if I didn't explain something properly or if you have ideas for things that could happen in the future or characters you would like to see pop up! There are a number that will be making an appearance sooner or later, but there are some characters from the original 'Snow Queen' story whom I have yet to assign to a character from Bleach, so ideas would be helpful.


	4. Importance of Decisions

Hearts of Glass, Steel, Fire and Ice

Ichigo shivered slightly and pulled his cloak more tightly around himself. In the daytime, the winter weather could be chilly, but at night sometimes it was downright unbearable. And yet, as a part of the Night Watch, Ichigo had to bear the cold.

At fourteen years old, he had finally achieved his dream of joining and training in the Night Watch. While he didn't have near as much free time as he used to, Ichigo found that he actually preferred having such a rigorous training routine. Sometimes, when he was really focused on learning a new technique, memories of his mother and her death ceased to plague and guilt him. However, at times like these, when all he had to occupy his time was vigilant watching over the area where he could see both the Arrancar Forest and the Shinigami River, his gaze would constantly shift to the exact spot where his mother's body had lay sprawled on the ground before townspeople had come to carry her into Karakura.

Masaki's death had been mourned by nearly all in the town as she had been well known for her kind and generous nature. On holidays, Masaki had never failed to send a basket of freshly made treats to the men of the Night Watch who were not able to join in the festivities. She had been hospitable to all who had entered her home and only said kind words to others.

It had taken all of Ichigo's strength just to make it through that day and even the week without completely breaking down. Crying was unseemly for a young man who claimed he wanted to become a part of the Night Watch and he refused to be branded as a weakling by anyone.

As for the others, Karin, Yuzu and Orihime had cried along with everyone else, but Ichigo had been surprised to see his father so solemn and stoic. The loss of his wife had sobered him up so much that Ichigo once or twice almost wished that Isshin would do something stupid like he used to. Then Ichigo wouldn't have to feel like he had stolen the life away from both his parents.

After Masaki's burial, Isshin had pulled Ichigo to the side and told him that he wasn't to go blaming himself for Masaki's death. What had happened to her had been a tragic accident or incident and that Masaki would say the same thing if she were there.

'Only she isn't here,' Ichigo thought to himself, 'And it is my fault for not protecting her. She had to jump in front of that panther to keep me from getting hurt because I was too scared to do anything.'

And so despite the best efforts of everyone from Isshin to Karin to Yuzu to Kisuke, Ichigo could not find a way to forgive himself. He couldn't move on. Every day the burden and grief those memories placed upon his heart grew heavier and heavier. However, he had become very adept at shouldering that burden and carrying it around without anyone else knowing of its existence. He could act and pretend that he was getting better and that he could handle. With everyone else believing that he was fine, Ichigo felt as if he was getting rid of even a small amount of his shame.

However, what Ichigo didn't know was that Orihime was not at all fooled by his act. She could see that Ichigo was still haunted by his mother's death and that he obviously blamed himself. Her heart ached to see him in such a state, but as much as she wanted to help him, she wasn't sure how she could. She had made a promise as well as Ichigo that day and so far she had failed to keep that promise. If she didn't confront him soon, Orihime felt sure that something was going to happen.

That night, something did happen.

At first, Ichigo thought he was hearing things and so ignored the sounds and simply pulled his cloak more securely about his chest and shoulders. However, as the minutes passed, Ichigo's ears began to pick up very distinct sounds and they sounded more and more like words so he began listening more intently in spite of himself. There was a voice singing within the sound of the winter wind blowing and Ichigo couldn't help but listen more carefully to the haunting music.

_The rain-dampened cheek_  
_The traveler with the gentle gaze_  
_The nostalgic music that resonates softly_  
_I wander among memories I can't remember._

While the voice wasn't depressed or tragic sounding, Ichigo noticed a certain air of melancholy and longing in there. It sounded as if the voice were actually the sound of his own soul and emotions being given life. The sorrow and guilt he felt over the death of his mother was being put to song.

_My dream flies away on tiny wings_  
_To the place where our feelings won't disappear;_

As the voice kept singing, Ichigo noticed that it was becoming clearer. Looking around, he saw what looked to be a figure inside a swirl of snow. The whirlwind of snow drew closer to where Ichigo stood guard on the wall and as it came, Ichigo could now see that the figure being borne along by the winter wind was a young woman.

_Just the two of us_  
_Going beyond the distant ocean and sky._

When the young woman was close enough that Ichigo could make out her face, he saw that she was beautiful. Her skin was as pale as the snow dancing around her while her jet black hair stood out in stark contrast. She was clad in a white fur cloak that covered her completely, but Ichigo could just make out the color of her dress. It was midnight blue with silver stars seeming to shimmer in and out of focus all over the skirt.

However, it was her eyes which really arrested Ichigo's attention. A deep sapphire blue with just a hint of violet and despite the fact that the moon was behind her back, the woman's eye shone with an inner light almost like moonlight. In her gaze, Ichigo saw those same emotions being displayed through the windows of her soul as her voice was communicating through song.

_Your gentle gaze illuminates me_  
_In the dark night_  
_I want to see you._

For a few moments after the song ended, both Ichigo and the young woman simply looked into one another's eyes. Then Ichigo let out a breath he didn't even realize he had been holding. The young woman tilted her head to the side and studied Ichigo for a time. Then she gave Ichigo a small sad smile before turning and continuing on her way.

Before he could stop himself, Ichigo leaned forward and said, "Wait! Who are you? Are you all right?"

The young woman paused before slowly turning and looking at Ichigo with a new interest in her eyes before she asked, "You can understand me?"

Ichigo blinked and said slowly, "Yeah, of course I can."

The snow and wind that seemed to keep the young woman aloft picked up the pace slightly so that she was able to float back to the Karakura Wall. Drifting over the wall, the young woman was set down next to where Ichigo was standing. Despite the fact that she was more than a head shorter than him, Ichigo could help but be in awe of this young woman. Something about her eyes said to him that she was wise beyond the years that she appeared to be.

In her low voice, the young woman said, "This is the first time someone has actually understood my song. There are some who have seen me, mostly children, and can hear my voice, but you're the first to hear my song."

The only thing Ichigo could think to ask was, "Who are you?"

With a small smile, the woman said, "I am called Rukia. What is your name?"

"Ichigo. Ichigo Kurosaki. Member of the Night Watch."

Rukia's eyes searched Ichigo's for a time before she said almost to herself, "I wonder…"

Ichigo blinked at this last comment and asked automatically, "What?"

Rukia blinked, seemed to come to herself and then said, "Nothing really. You remind me of someone I used to know, I think."

It was Ichigo's turn to blink, only this time in complete confusion, as he asked, "What do you mean? Don't you know?"

Shaking her head, Rukia said, "The memories aren't very clear. Every other thought that runs through my mind is about this person. They were very important to me, I know that much, but I can't remember why or who they were or even what happened to them. You and that person have the same eyes though, I know that much. And very similar hair."

Rubbing his own bright hair ruefully, Ichigo scowled as he said, "I can't help what kind of hair I was born with. My mother-" he stopped himself and his scowl became darker, more pained.

Rukia's eyes filled with understanding as she said, "So, you have lost someone important to you as well."

Turning away, Ichigo said in a slow monotone, "Yeah and it was my fault. She died because of me."

For a time, neither spoke. Ichigo kept looking out over the frozen landscape while Rukia kept her gaze focused on Ichigo. From her expression, one could see that she was trying to make a decision, a rather difficult decision, and a life-changing decision. Then her eyes took on a new light and the decision was made.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, member of the Night Watch."

Ichigo turned to meet Rukia's gaze.

"I don't think it's an accident we met tonight. You are hurting and unable to forgive yourself for a mistake made in your past. I have the ability to help you start afresh if you will let me. You will leave behind your life here and all the pain of your past if you will come with me."

Rukia's eyes took on a serious light as she finished, "However, a normal human cannot survive where I must go."

Even though she didn't say any more, Ichigo knew exactly what she was trying to tell him. He didn't even stop to think about anyone or anything he might leave behind. The guilt had been weighing him down for so long, Ichigo could feel himself straining to be out from under its oppression.

Returning Rukia's gaze with determination, Ichigo said firmly, "Let's go."

The next morning, the only traces of Ichigo Kurosaki that the other members of the Night Watch could find were the footprints he had left behind. Search parties were sent out and when after two weeks no other traces were found, he was presumed to be dead.

At first, Isshin, Yuzu, Karin and Orihime kept hoping and believing that the rest of Karakura was wrong, but as the months went by and spring approached their faith dwindled.

And so were life-changing events were set in motion.

**Author's Note:**

I'm not really pleased with how Ichigo and Rukia met and everything, but the story really isn't even going to be about them anyway. If you have not read the story of 'The Snow Queen' I'll just let you know that the characters Ichigo and Rukia are portraying show up for a little at the beginning and then the end, but the entire story really centers around Orihime's character and her adventures.

The song Rukia sang is from the manga/anime Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles by CLAMP and was originally sung by the Princess Sakura. It will have more significance later, but we'll save that explanation for later chapters. The song is beautiful and I highly recommend listening to it. You can go to YouTube and type in 'You Are My Love' and the artist is named Yui Makino. If you have any questions, feel free to ask! :)

So, everything has been set into motion and I think the next part of the journey should be really interesting. If you have any questions, I'd love to answer them as best I can! Also, critiques and suggestions for anything that you think might help with the story would be greatly appreciated!


	5. Intelligence or Wisdom

Hearts of Glass, Steel, Fire and Ice

As winter began to melt away to give room for spring to bloom, Orihime found it much harder to keep her spirits up. The days were growing warmer and all Orihime could think about were the times she and Ichigo had spent going out into Karakura Town and even beyond the wall, enjoying the freedom the nicer weather brought. Not that they hadn't ever been able to see each other during the winter time, but one can't deny that frolicking in the fresh spring air with the whole world seeming to come back to life after a long nap is so much more invigorating especially for children.

Orihime would feel an especially sharp pain in her heart whenever she would wake up in the morning. She would get out of bed, walk to the window and stare over at the Kurosaki residence straight into the room where Ichigo used to sleep. Thinking about all the times when Ichigo would raise his window, scowling because his dad had once again tried to kill him in his sleep, before turning, smiling and returning Orihime's cheery 'Good morning!' Now all she could see in his window were the drawn curtains subconsciously telling her that Ichigo was gone forever.

When she looked over at the closed curtains, a small voice would often whisper in the back of her mind 'This happened because you weren't strong enough. You knew that Ichigo wasn't all right and yet you did nothing. Your weakness and lack of action has caused all this pain and suffering, especially on the Kurosaki family. Ichigo is gone forever because of you.'

However, for whatever reason that she couldn't explain, some small part of Orihime's heart would respond by saying 'You don't really believe that he is really and truly gone forever, do you? Can't you feel it? He's still out there somewhere.'

As Orihime prepared the mid-day meal one day for her and Sora, these thoughts and questions all revolving around Ichigo and whether or not he was truly alive refused to leave her alone. With her mind torn between scolding herself, trying to give herself a small amount of hope and also trying to make sure none of the food was over or under cooked, Orihime didn't hear Sora descend the stairs a little earlier than he usually did and enter the kitchen.

"Orihime, are you all right?"

Hearing her brother's voice suddenly coming from her left side, Orihime gasped and jumped slightly in surprise, but managed not to flip any of the vegetables she was sautéing in a pan out onto the stovetop.

Automatically, Orihime beamed up at her brother and said in her most cheery tone, "Good afternoon, Big Brother! You're up early today. Did you sleep well? I hope I wasn't too loud just now and woke you up."

Trying not to smile, Sora said, "Good afternoon to you too Orihime. Yes, I did sleep well and no, you were not too loud. I just felt like getting up early this morning for some reason."

Looking at Orihime seriously, Sora then said, "However, you didn't answer my question, Orihime."

He didn't bother asking it again since he knew that Orihime had heard the question and simply tried to avoid it. Orihime took a few moments to think about how to respond and as she did so, her expression went from bright and cheery to thoughtful and somewhat pensive.

Still keeping half her attention on the food in the pan, Orihime asked slowly, "I know I'm answering your question with a question Sora, but have you ever been torn between two ideas?"

Blinking, Sora replied, "Well, yes. There are plenty of times when I'm not sure which decision would be better."

Shaking her head, Orihime said, "Oh, I don't mean making decisions like what to wear in the morning, or what occupation you want to have when you grow up. I'm talking about being torn between knowing something in your head and feeling something in your heart. Has there ever been a time when your head told you something was completely impossible but your heart told you not to give up hope?"

Sora looked at his sister with an expression of sad understanding as he said, "You're talking about the Kurosaki boy. You think he's still alive."

Turning to look at her brother, Orihime replied, "Yes, I am thinking about Ichigo. I don't know why, but I can't shake this feeling that he's still out there somewhere alive. Maybe not alive and well, but alive nonetheless."

"And you want to go and look for him."

Sora stated it as a fact because he knew it was true.

Looking in her brother's eyes, Orihime said simply, "He left because he made a promise to me that he couldn't keep. As soon as he made it, for whatever reason, he was put to the test right away and he feels that he failed. He left because he felt that his mother paid the ultimate price for his failure and he couldn't forgive himself for being so weak."

Orihime stated these things as fact because she felt them to be true.

"I want to go after him because I also made a promise that I have failed to keep so far."

"You would leave everything to go and look for a boy you're not even sure is alive?"

The question was asked in a soft tone so that Orihime wasn't sure how to respond right away since it took her by surprise. It hadn't really crossed her mind that she would have to leave her brother behind since she knew he couldn't abandon his post as a part of the Night Watch. Even if he said he would, Orihime wouldn't have allowed it. If she left, unless she returned safely one day, Sora would never know if she was alive or dead. How could she do that to him?

Lowering her gaze, Orihime said softly, "I'm sorry, Brother. I wasn't thinking. Of course I won't leave you."

"That is a smart decision, Orihime."

Sora gently put his finger under Orihime's chin and raised her head until he could look her in the eyes before he said, "There are smart decisions and then there are wise decisions. Some choices can fall under both categories. You are a smart girl and you are wise as well. I know you will make the right choice."

"Of course, Brother."

A few minutes later, they both ate their meal and went about the rest of their day as they always did. In the evening, Orihime got ready to go with Sora to his post as she often did now. It was about the only time that she ever ventured outside the Inoue household anymore because she couldn't bear to walk around the streets of Karakura alone. There were too many bittersweet memories hiding at every street corner waiting to assail her.

Making small talk as they walked along, neither noticed the danger approaching them until it was too late. It all happened in the space of about ten seconds. The time it took for Orihime to turn to her brother and answer a question he had just asked her.

Orihime felt a menacing, scary and eerily familiar presence coming up behind her so she turned to see who or what it was. There was a low growl, the sound of heavy yet padded feet running and a flash of blue fur.

Even though he hadn't seen the creature coming, Sora's senses were just as sensitive as Orihime's, even more so because of his Night Watch training, so when he realized there was something charging at him and his sister he pushed Orihime away with one arm as he turned to face the charging blue panther. The struggled lasted for all of five seconds and finished with Sora being flung viciously against the wall of a building and sinking motionless to the ground.

From where she had fallen, Orihime had seen the entire incident without making a sound. After the panther threw her brother, it turned and looked into her eyes. Despite the fact that she had not moved at all, while looking into the startling blue eyes of the panther, Orihime felt as though she had been frozen in place. After what felt like several hours, the panther blew out a soft grunt before turning and vanishing into the shadow of a building.

For a few more minutes, Orihime sat staring at the place where the panther had disappeared not daring to move. She knew that as soon as she turned to look at her brother, reality would set in and she would have to face the facts about what had just happened.

Orihime was now alone in the world.

There were no other people on that particular street at that point in time, so Orihime was quite literally alone for a time. She was being given the chance to come to terms with the fact that she was alone. That Sora was gone.

Finally, she turned and crawled over to where her brother had fallen after he hit the wall. He had not uttered a single cry of pain or fear as he had turned to face the panther or when he knew he was about to die. In her heart, Orihime knew that Sora had done that because he didn't want to have his cries haunt her dreams for years to come. However, nothing would ever erase the memory of him being thrown like a rag doll or of her crawling over so that she could place his head in her lap.

Sora's face was peaceful. Not a trace of pain or fear. Just contented peace.

She brushed a stray strand of hair from his face before bending down to kiss her brother's forehead gently as she said, "Thank you Sora."

And then she wept.

**Author's Note:**

It had to happen. Ichigo and Orihime have both now lost someone dear to them, which gives them a sense of common loss.

As much as I didn't want to kill Sora, in order for Orihime to truly understand why Ichigo would want to leave Karakura, Sora had to be sacrificed. Now the circumstances she leaves the town will be different, she won't blame herself for Sora's death like Ichigo did with Masaki's, but she still did have to have a reason to leave. Also, this will become more important later, but Orihime can't have the desire to get back home to Sora along with wanting to find Ichigo once again. She can only have one deep, desperate desire in her heart and if Sora were alive, her heart would be torn and what I have planned wouldn't work.

I'm hoping to have the next chapter up REALLY soon so that Orihime can then begin her journey and things can become more interesting and maybe a little less sad.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and I'm really glad I'm posting this now so that I'm not in a turkey induced coma!


	6. The Journey Begins

Hearts of Glass, Steel, Fire and Ice

Orihime was drowning.

The whole spring and through most of the summer the citizens of Karakura had been pulling out all the stops to show Orihime just how much they grieved with her and wanted to make sure that she was well taken care of since her brother could no longer take care of her and she obviously was not old enough to do so herself.

Housewives came by with care packages brimming over with home-cooked food, groceries and a plethora of other household items and goods. The men of the town were constantly coming by to make sure she had enough wood for her fire, her house was in good repair and any other number of things she might need a man's help to finish. The children, when they heard about how much she enjoyed sweets, would spend their pocket money to buy something for themselves as well as their friend.

As much as she appreciated their gestures of good will and kindness, with all the people stopping by to make sure she was all right, Orihime was far more exhausted since she always had to try and appear to be getting along just fine even if she was still mourning her brother. While she hadn't cried at all since the day her brother had died, that didn't mean that her heart was by any means healed.

Now she truly understood just how much Ichigo had suffered after his mother's death. How heavy the burden of trying to make sure everyone else didn't worry about him while he secretly carried the weight of guilt he had placed upon his own shoulders. This understanding brought with it heartache since now Orihime could feel the pain Ichigo must have felt and she felt burdened by the guilt of not doing something sooner to help him with his own self-inflicted guilt. That combined with the grief of Sora's death nearly overwhelmed Orihime especially since the constant stream of visitors didn't give her enough time to deal with anything. She always had to plaster on her most cheery face and use her most confident tone.

One day, when she was finally left alone for a few minutes, Orihime decided to slip out her back door before anyone else came knocking and she had to go through the same old routine yet again. Without thinking, Orihime simply put one foot in front of another and before she knew it, her feet had led her right to the door of Urahara's Shop. Reaching out, Orihime opened the door and walked inside automatically.

Looking around, Orihime saw that it was exactly the same as it had always been. Since the death of Masaki, both Ichigo and Orihime had not come by since the place reminded them of what had happened the day they had last gone there. Orihime had missed coming by the store for a time, but after a while she had moved on, so now she was curious as to why her feet would bring her here of all places.

The next moment, the voice of Tessai called out as he made his way to the store front, "Welcome to Urahara's Shop! How may I-Miss Orihime! Why this is a most pleasant surprise!"

As soon as the man rounded the corner and saw Orihime, his eyes lit up and he gave Orihime a wide smile. Before Orihime could say anything, Kisuke Urahara himself came out from the back room as well and Orihime was struck by the thought that neither man had really changed at all, just like the store.

Giving Orihime a small smile, Kisuke said softly, "It's been a while, Orihime. I believe Tessai was just getting ready to serve tea and we would be delighted to have you join us. Just like old times."

At these words, Orihime opened her mouth to reply, but instead felt her throat close firmly so that she was unable to force the words out. Memories flew through her mind and in that moment she would have given anything to turn back the hands of time. Back to a time when life was simple, everyone she loved most were alive, happy and well. Back to when she wasn't all alone in the world.

Kisuke and Tessai both seemed to sense Orihime's distress since they both swiftly walked over to her side just in enough time to catch and support her as the tears came and her knees buckled. With both of them half-carrying, half-guiding her along, they reached the back room in no time and settled her comfortably at her usual place at the table, which was already set for tea.

Just as suddenly as she had started, Orihime forced herself to calm down and said in a shaky yet light tone, "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me just then."

Kisuke had taken his seat across from Orihime and looked at her seriously and said slowly, "Don't ever apologize for something like that. To cry so openly in front of us tells me three things. One, that you have not been given time to properly grieve your brother's passing. From what I gather, that would be a fault of your well-meaning and kind neighbors who simply don't quite grasp the concept of 'breathing space'."

Orihime smiled a little at that, to which Kisuke replied in kind before he went on saying, "Two, your crying shows me that your heart is still just as sensitive and strong as it always has been. You have borne a lot of pain in the past few months and still you manage to keep moving on with your life.

"And third, by crying in front of us, you show trust and openness in your heart for us. To openly cry in front of someone is what some would deem weakness since the act shows the person at their most vulnerable and fragile state. A state which most people avoid being caught in at all costs since they refuse to be labeled as weak.

"However, in doing so, that person also cuts themselves off from true companionship and fellowship with others because they can't reveal their true selves. Without trust, you can't really claim to know or even love someone.

"Now there are others who cry far too much and they do so simply because they either wish to gain attention and can't think of any other way to do so, almost like a child, or they pity themselves and wish others to pity them as well.

With a gentle smile, Kisuke finished by saying, "You don't fall under either of those two categories. Your tears are a sign that your heart has been wounded very grievously, but you still have the ability to want to heal yourself. I'm guessing that now you have had your good cry, you feel much better. Am I right?"

In answer to Kisuke's question, Orihime found that the grip on her heart had lessened greatly much to her surprise.

Looking at Kisuke, Orihime asked, "I do feel much better, but what did you mean when you said that I still have the ability to want to heal myself?"

Leaning back and crossing his arms, Kisuke said simply, "Well everyone has different ways to grieving similar losses you have experienced, but most often either someone will cry and mourn for a time before moving on with their life or they will refuse to cry and remain stuck in the past. The rest of their lives will be overshadowed by the inability to let go of what they have lost and will remain locked in the past, giving no thought to their future or even present. I would think it would be quite obvious which the better way to grieve was."

Before Orihime could reply, Tessai said mildly, "I'm guessing you still take your tea with four lumps of sugar and a spoonful of cinnamon plus a dash of ground up cloves, Miss Orihime."

Smiling brightly at Tessai, Orihime said, "You remembered! That sounds positively delicious!"

Tessai expertly made the cup of tea and passed it to Orihime who inhaled the scent slowly. The aroma brought back more memories, but with the knowledge of Kisuke's words and the fact that her crying spell earlier had left her feeling much improved, the thought of times gone by caused a small wistful smile to lift the corners of her mouth. Closing her eyes, Orihime took a sip and her old smile returned along as well as the light in her eyes.

Kisuke accepted his own cup of tea from Tessai as he said lightly, "Isn't it amazing what a cup of tea and a good cry can do for the soul, Tessai?"

Without looking up from his own cup of tea, Tessai replied, "Yes, such remedies do wonders for those who have souls and hearts. I wonder how the soulless and heartless people of the world get along."

Kisuke blinked in surprise for a moment before he slowly pointed a finger at Tessai and dramatically whispered, "You…you're saying that you don't think I have a soul or a heart, aren't you Tessai?"

Giving his employer a wide-eyed, innocent look, Tessai inquired, "Did I say that? Oh dear me. How thoughtless I am to say so out loud."

With an incredulous look, Kisuke retorted, "I think you mean 'How HEARTLESS I am'!"

Shaking his head calmly, Tessai said, "No, I said thoughtless because it was not a very wise thing to say out loud even if it was the truth."

In spite of herself, Orihime couldn't help but let out a small giggle at the look of utter dumbstruck surprise on Kisuke's face while Tessai's expression was unconcerned and nonchalant. When the two men turned their gaze upon her, Orihime clapped a hand over her mouth but all that did was cause her to snort in a most unladylike fashion before she completely lost all composure, throwing her head back and laughing from the very core of her being. The two men seemed surprised at her reaction for a moment before they both grinned.

It was a little while before Orihime managed to calm down and as she was wiping tears away from her eyes, Kisuke said sagely, "I revise my earlier statement. It's amazing how much a good cry, a cup of tea but mostly a really good laugh can do for one's heart and soul. After all 'A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones'."

Taking another sip of tea, Orihime was again struck by the memories of Ichigo up until the time he had left Karakura. His spirit had been broken and his determination had gone with it. Just before her brother's death she had been so determined to go out and search for Ichigo in order to fulfill her own promise of always being there to make him happy, but she had abandoned that idea when the thought of leaving Sora behind occurred to her. However, with Sora gone, maybe, just maybe she could and should go and look for her childhood friend. At the very least, when she found him Orihime could find out if he was all right, why he left and things like that so when she came back to Karakura she could bring news to his family.

Finishing her tea quickly, Orihime stood up and said politely, "Thank you so much Mr. Urahara and Mr. Tessai for the lovely cup of tea. You've both helped me more than you realize."

Bowing and then hastening out of the room, Orihime stopped and turned when she heard Kisuke call after her, "Journeys are like rivers. Once you get started, unless you are very careful to keep your balance and your wits about you, there's no telling where the currents might sweep you off too. Just a little friendly advice for you."

Orihime nodded in acknowledgement and gratitude, even though she didn't entirely understand what Kisuke meant by those words right then. But she would figure the meaning out soon enough.

Walking through the streets of Karakura, Orihime once again allowed her intuition and feet guide the way and before she knew it, she had walked outside the Karakura Wall and was heading in the direction of the Shinigami River. For whatever reason, she had not met anyone as she walked through the streets so she wasn't stopped and inquired about how she was doing or where she was going so close to evening. She probably wouldn't have been able to answer anyways since she really didn't know herself.

Still following her intuition, Orihime made her way right to the river's edge and then stood looking out over the water unsure of what to do next. Then she turned and saw the most curious little boat moored just a little ways away in a patch of reeds. For reasons she would never be able to explain, Orihime made her way over to the boat, climbed in and pulled the rope holding the boat in place inside. As soon as she did that, the boat slowly began to drift away from the shore and into the middle of the river and then the boat began to pick up speed as it hit the stronger currents.

Sitting in the boat and watching the scenery drift by, Orihime was rather surprised at herself for not feeling anything other than mild curiosity about where this boat may be taking her. While she wouldn't say that the boat had a mind of its own, for whatever reason she knew that the boat was taking her somewhere very specific. All she had to do was sit back and wait to arrive at her destination.

When she had begun her journey, the sun had only just began to start its final descent towards sunset. As the sun finished disappearing over the horizon, Orihime felt the boat drifting towards the shore and gradually slowing down as it left the faster-flowing currents.

At this point, Orihime looked up and saw a kind of house coming into view. It was surrounded by a lovely garden and as she drew nearer, Orihime saw a woman exit the house and come towards the shoreline.

The boat stopped next to the woman and Orihime saw that she was rather tall with long, dark hair pulled into a braid, kind blue eyes and a welcoming smile brightening her features.

"Welcome Orihime Inoue. I've been expecting you for quite some time."

**Author's Note:**

So hopefully from here on out things will get far more interesting and exciting and enjoyable! I don't think it would be giving too much away to say that at this point in time, no other characters are going to die. I won't say that there will be no more deaths at all (I haven't decided in some cases what to do with some characters...), but for the time being everyone is safe. Also, just an fyi, Orihime will most certainly not die. If she died, the whole story would go to the dogs.

Anyway, any guesses on who this newcomer might be?

Hoped you liked it and as always any critiques and/or suggestions for things I could do better or add to the story would be greatly appreciated!


	7. Comforting Evening, Sinister Shadows

Hearts of Glass, Steel, Fire and Ice

Before reaching up to take the woman's proffered hand, Orihime looked into the woman's eyes and asked, "How did you know my name? How did you know that I would come here?"

Nodding her head, the woman replied, "While those are both excellent questions, my dear, the two you really should be asking in this situation is what you are going to do now that you are here and how much you really want to learn from me."

In answer to Orihime's blank look, the woman said, "You were brought here for a reason, Orihime Inoue. To learn from me for a time before you continue on your journey."

Reaching out her hand again, the woman said, "Now please come inside. We can talk more comfortably there and my family would like to greet you as well."

Taking the woman's hand, as she stood up Orihime asked in a hushed voice, "May I ask what your name is?"

Smiling, the woman assisted Orihime out of the boat and said, "Of course you may. My name is Retsu and it is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance."

Following the woman towards the house, Orihime looked around her to see that the lawn was divided into several different kinds of gardens. One was completely devoted to growing flowers and other beautiful plants. Another grew a wide variety of herbs, several of which Orihime had seen Masaki or Isshin collect in order to use in different medical poultices. Yet another grew all sorts of delicious looking vegetables and a few fruit plants as well. The last garden Orihime noticed was one entirely made of shrubs, bushes and other medium sized plants that had all been trimmed into different designs and shapes.

When they reached the front door, Retsu opened the door and ushered Orihime in ahead of herself and so Orihime stepped over the threshold first. After seeing the outdoors, Orihime really shouldn't have been surprised at the interior, but still it was a little surprising.

Ivy slowly snaked its way up many of the walls. Planting pots with many different varieties of flowers, shrubs, tomato plants and other things were arranged on the floor so that it almost looked as if everything had just been haphazardly placed upon the floor, but Orihime could see that there was a kind of path one could walk through with plenty of space so as not to knock anything over.

All this she took in the space of about two seconds, for the next thing she knew, a low, male voice said, "So this is the girl you spoke of, Sister?"

Orihime whirled to her right and saw that the speaker was a rather tall man with dark hair and piercing blue eyes just like Retsu's. The one main difference was that while Retsu seemed to have a pleasant nature, this man was somewhat aloof and his eyes betrayed not the slightest hint of emotion.

In response to the question, Retsu stepped forward, placed a friendly hand on Orihime's shoulder and addressed the man saying, "Yes, Byakuya. I would like to introduce you to our guest. Her name is Orihime Inoue and she will be staying with us for some time."

To Orihime, Retsu said, "Orihime, this is my brother, Byakuya."

Turning to Byakuya, Orihime bowed politely and said, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir."

There was a slight grunt in acknowledgement and when Orihime raised her eyes again, she caught sight of another, smaller figure walking up behind Byakuya. It was a woman who also had dark hair and blue eyes, only the shade was not quite the same as Retsu's or Byakuya's.

As the woman made her way to stand next to Byakuya, Retsu spoke up again saying, "Ah, Hisana. May I introduce you to our guest? Her name is Orihime Inoue."

When the woman caught sight of Orihime, she smiled and slowly made her way past Byakuya to come and take Orihime's hand and say in a soft, kind voice, "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Orihime. My name is Hisana and Byakuya," here she turned and nodded in the man's direction before turning back to Orihime, "is my husband. I do hope you have a pleasant stay here with us."

Orihime smiled and flushed with pleasure before she bowed again, a little less fluidly, and said, "I am very glad to meet you as well, Madam."

Hisana and Retsu both began laughing, Retsu in a low chuckle and Hisana in a high, almost musical giggle while Orihime looked on in confusion. What had she done wrong?

Finally Retsu was able to control her laughter, she said kindly, "Now Orihime, enough with the 'Madam' and 'Sir' titles. Honestly, we may be older than you, but please don't make us feel old and decrepit before our time. Just call us by our names and we'll all get along wonderfully."

Turning her eyes back towards her husband, Hisana said, "Well, I know I'll be happy not to be addressed as such, but I'm not so sure about Byakuya. He's always been something of an old soul and I think being called 'Sir' definitely appealed to him."

Byakuya's only response was to raise an eyebrow, grunt and then turn sophisticatedly to stride out of the room.

Before Orihime could say anything, Retsu said with a sigh, "Don't mind my brother, Orihime. He has a good heart, but it does take some time before he will warm up to someone he's just met. And even still with those whom he trusts absolutely he can sometimes seem cold and distant."

"While the words may seem harsh, I suppose they are somewhat adequate to describe him."

Whipping her head around, Orihime saw that the speaker was another rather tall man with very long, silvery hair. Unlike Byakuya, this man was smiling and had warm, brown eyes.

Retsu turned as well, smiled and said in a slightly more gentle and loving tone, "Ah, Orihime, this is my husband, Jyuushiro. Darling, this is Orihime Inoue."

Jyuushiro returned his wife's smile before stepping forward to take Orihime's hand and say kindly, "Pleased to meet you, Orihime. I do hope you enjoy your stay here in our home."

Orihime flushed in gratitude and said, "Thank you, Si-" she cut herself off as she remembered Retsu's words and stuttered to correct herself, "I-I-I mean, thank you…Jyu-Jyuushiro."

Retsu chuckled again as she said, "Well, that wasn't so hard now was it? Anyway, let's all go to the kitchen and have some refreshments."

A few minutes later, Orihime was comfortably settled at a table surrounded by her new friends eating a light meal. Conversation flowed rather easily without her help, so while she would say something every once in a while, Orihime was mostly content to sit in silence like Byakuya.

Soon, however, the soothing sound of friendly voices, the feeling of a filling meal in her stomach and a little bit of exhaustion from the journey she had had that day and even the cry she had had in Urahara's Shop all finally took their toll and Orihime's eyelids closed.

The first person to notice that she was about to fall asleep and knock her head against the table was Byakuya and he swiftly yet silently made his way to Orihime's side before he lifted her easily into his arms.

Retsu smiled and whispered to her brother, "The guest bedroom is all made up," to which he nodded in understanding before turning and making his way down the hallway. When he arrived at the doorway, Retsu opened the door for him so that he could carry the girl inside and lay her on the bed. He then turned and left, passing by his wife on the way, who smiled up at her husband before making her way over to help Retsu prepare the sleeping girl for bed. A few minutes later, both women exited, said their good-nights to one another and went to their own sleeping quarters.

Orihime slept peacefully through the whole night, something that had not happened in quite some time as thoughts of Sora or Ichigo would pop up just as she was about to fall asleep. In this house, she felt safe, which was true in a way.

Some distance away, inside a large and shadowy cave, Orihime's journey to Retsu's home was being discussed by five individuals. Four of the individuals had had no direct contact with Orihime as of yet while another had been quite influential in bringing about not only Orihime's ordeals but Ichigo's as well.

One of the individuals sat on a kind of stone throne that had been placed on a kind of pedestal towards the back of the room. Usually throne rooms were illuminated with light so that the occupant of the throne could be seen quite clearly and admired by all who saw them. In this case, the person sitting on the throne was enshrouded in shadow. There were some torches burning in the front of the room so that there was some light by which to see where one was going, but they were positioned in such a way as to keep the identity of the throne's occupant a mystery in some ways. One could see the outline of the person on the throne, but that was about all. It gave the entire room and the person who ruled over it a rather sinister air.

Besides the regal personage on the shadowy throne, there were four others standing in various spots across the room. One was big and burly with scraggly black hair and a rather cruel countenance but at the moment he was leaning against the wall and looking immensely bored. Another was standing rather close to the large man and while he also had midnight black hair, he was very well groomed with startlingly green eyes. On the other side of the room, also leaning against the wall was a man with blue hair and piercing blue eyes to match. The last person was standing in front of the pedestal and seemed to be giving a report.

"The girl has arrived at the Healer's home, Excellency."

The person sitting on the throne shifted slightly and said in a low, resonant and rather unconcerned tone, "Yes, I expected as much. Ulquiorra, how fares the boy?"

The man with green eyes stepped forward and said in a monotone, "My Lord, the boy seems to have adjusted well to his new surroundings. At first it seemed doubtful whether he would survive or not, but the transformation is now complete and the last I saw he was completely stable. The Princess has given him the task of overseeing the more violent winter storms and blizzards."

The man in the shadows nodded and leaned back in his chair, saying smoothly, "Very good. Very good indeed."

Almost to himself, yet still in a voice that carried to every inch of the cave, he said, "Everything is progressing exactly according to plan."

The man with the blue hair pushed himself away from the wall and said in a harsh tone, "Yeah, yeah. Everything is going according to your plan. That's all well and good, but when can I leave this drafty cave and go back out there. I'm so bored just waiting around twiddling my thumbs."

The man on the throne did not move, but his voice gained a little more of an edge as he said, "Patience, Grimmjow. You have carried out your duties admirably by following my instructions to the letter. For the time being, however, your particular set of skills is no longer of use to me."

Grimmjow's eyes became icy as he said, "Well then, if that's the case then I guess I'll be on my way."

Even though the man's voice did not rise in volume, the absolute authority and dominance resonating in the words kept everyone in place as he said, "You will stay here, Grimmjow. You will be allowed to leave only when I say you may. Until then, you will wait here patiently with the others. Now leave, all of you."

Within a few minutes and throne room had been entirely vacated except for the man sitting on the throne…or had it?

"I don't mean to be impertinent, my lord, but Grimmjow is becoming far too volatile of late. His restlessness and lack of respect towards you will soon spread to the others. Then when he realizes what he has done, he may lead an uprising against you."

The low, monotone voice had come from the right side of the throne and as it continued a figure had stepped out from the shadows to reveal a man with long, dark dreadlocks. He moved deliberately yet confidently as he made his way to the front of the throne.

Another voice spoke from the other side of the throne saying in a rather sing-song tone, "While we don't agree on many things, I do think Kaname has a point there. Grimmjow really is getting too big for his britches."

Standing up slowly and stepping forward so that he began to be illuminated by the light, the leader said slowly, "I am well aware of the damage Grimmjow could do given the chance. However, Gin and Kaname, you both forget whom Grimmjow would be attempting to seize control from. As powerful as Grimmjow might be, do you really think he is much of a match when faced off against me?"

Kaname bowed respectfully as he said, "Of course not, my Lord Aizen. When compared with you, Grimmjow really is no match."

Aizen put his hands behind his back as he said, "However, it would be such a shame to loose such a useful soldier simply because I was unable to control him. I will have Ulquiorra keep an eye on him whenever possible, but in Ulquiorra's absence I trust that you, Kaname, and you, Gin, will be more than able to make sure Grimmjow stays in line."

Both men bowed deferentially and said in unison, "Yes, my lord," before they turned and left the cave.

Left alone, Aizen seemed to stare off in the distance with an amused look in his eyes and a relaxed smirk on his lips as he said, "And so, let the games begin…"

**Author's Note:**

Ok, so a few things you should know before this story goes any further:

1) I made Byakuya and Retsu blood brother and sister because they both have dark hair and blue eyes. Also, just a heads up, I intend to bring Kaien, Miyako and maybe Kukaku and Ganju as well with Kaien, Kukaku and Ganju being Retsu and Jyuushiro's children. As weird as it might seem now, I do have a reason for making them all one, big, happy family. I will give you one hint as to why I'm doing that: remember the legend Kisuke told to Ichigo and Orihime a few chapters back about the Guardians not being allowed to interact with one another? Well, that probably gave it away right there, but it's all right.

2) Just so everyone doesn't get all worried about my bringing in Hisana, Kaien and Miyako (and since I've already killed off Sora and Misaki), I have no intention of killing any of these characters. I'm hoping I can keep them alive since I haven't been able to before and I think they are really interesting and sweet characters. Also, none of their deaths would really advance the story at this point, so I'll keep them around.

3) Aizen is a character I'm really hoping I can get right, but if I don't please, please, please, please let me know! Also, I'm not entirely set on why he's doing all this or what he hopes to get out of it, so any ideas would be immensely helpful.

I think that's everything for now. As always, feel free to let me know if anything is just not adding up! Also, enjoy!


	8. Three Statues, Two Wounded Hearts

Hearts of Glass, Steel, Fire and Ice

When Orihime woke up the next morning, she was quite refreshed and ready to start the day. And what better way to start the day then by having a good breakfast?  
Following her nose, Orihime found her way to the dining room and found a note folded neatly beside a good sized plate of food and a glass of some kind of juice. She picked up the cup of juice, sipped it, smiled when she realized that it was an apple and orange mixture and then picked up the note which read as follows:

**_Dear Orihime,_**

**_After your experiences yesterday, we all thought it would be best not to wake you right away. Whenever you read this note, just know that everyone is outside working, but we'll be in later. Feel free to explore the house and relax, if you so desire. If, however, you would prefer to come outdoors with the rest of us, we would be more than happy to have you join us._**

**_Sincerely,_**

**_Retsu_**

Quickly finishing her breakfast, Orihime collected her dishes and made her way into the kitchen with every intention of cleaning up anything and everything she could possibly find as soon as she found the proper cleaning supplies. Seeming to have foreseen Orihime displaying such behavior, Orihime was surprised to find another note had been left for her by Retsu.

**_Dear Orihime,_**

**_With the exception of your own, all the dishes have been done. Also, all household cleaning supplies have been cleverly hidden by Byakuya, so you will never find them. Hisana has made sure that there is no water left for you to wash your own dishes, so you will have to leave them for one of us to do later._**

**_Now all you have to decide on is whether or not you would like to spend your time wisely or unwisely: will you hunt for the cleaning supplies in a fruitless attempt or simply come out to keep us company and maybe learn something in the process? It's your choice._**

**_Sincerely,_**

**_Retsu_**

Thinking that is was possible that Retsu might be pulling her leg, Orihime decided to try the water pump anyway, which consequentially did not release a single drop of liquid, and then hunt around for a while in the hopes that maybe Byakuya was not quite that good at hiding things as Retsu had intimated. Incidentally, Byakuya had hidden them in the last place Orihime expected or even imagined them to be. While Orihime had slept, Byakuya had smuggled the cleaning supplies into the closet inside her own room.

Finally, Orihime figured out that it was futile and went outside to find Retsu and the others. She wandered aimlessly around the gardens for a time admiring all the different varieties of plants, identifying the ones she knew and marveling at the ones she did not, until she came upon an intriguing sight.

Arranged carefully were three sculptures, two of which it took Orihime a few moments to figure out what they were supposed to be. One was of what looked like a bunny with long ears and a cute smiling face. Another was of a shape Orihime couldn't quite make out, like a cross between a wave and an oval, but the face was quite similar to the one molded onto the bunny. Behind both these statues (which were about a foot and a half in height) was a taller statue (about three and a half feet tall) made of white marble and was depicting a small girl.

The girl was shown to have shoulder length hair with one piece hanging in front of her face, however, she didn't seem to mind as she seemed to be treating the world to an open-mouthed laugh of delight. Her eyes were closed, but that just added to the effect of the statue looking as if it were actually laughing out loud. In her hands, the girl was clutching what looked like white sand. On her clothes, the sculptor had taken great care to etch delicate patterns into the stone, which when Orihime looked closer, looked like either stars or snowflakes.

Around the base of all three statues, flowers had been planted which were bluish-purplish in color. They were so small and fragile looking that Orihime very carefully knelt down in order to have a better look at them.

"Those are forget-me-nots."

At the sound of a voice suddenly coming from behind her, Orihime squeaked a little and spun around in order to see who had snuck up behind her. It was Byakuya.

Trying to slow down her accelerated heartbeat, Orihime asked, "I'm sorry?"

Kneeling down next to Orihime, Byakuya gently stroked a few flowers and said quietly, "They're called forget-me-nots. I specifically worked to make the flowers this shade of violet so that they were the same color as her eyes."

Nodding, Orihime said, "I see," even though she was still confused.

Byakuya began to prune the flower plants gently with his fingers as he said, "Her name was Rukia and she was Hisana's younger sister."

Orihime tried to hold her surmounting curiosity in check as she asked simply, "Was? Did she…die?"

There was a slight pause before Byakuya answered, "Rukia was lost to us quite a number of years ago. She had been attacked by a wild beast one day and her friend brought her here in order to get treatment from my sister. My sister is very skilled in the healing arts, but even she did not know the proper remedy needed in order to save Rukia's life so we had to send Rukia to one who could possibly save her."

Byakuya paused again and Orihime waited for a time for his to continue and when he did not, Orihime gently prodded, "What happened to Rukia?"

Sitting back on his heels, Byakuya examined the rest of the flowers before standing up and saying softly, "We're not sure. One day we received word that Rukia was beginning to improve, but then we never heard again so we are simply left to hope that Rukia did manage to heal."

Looking up at Byakuya as she stood herself, Orihime asked, "If you're not sure, then why have you not gone out looking for her?"

Out of all the answers Orihime might have imagined, the one Byakuya gave was not one she had been expecting. With a mere four words, Orihime's curiosity was sent skyrocketing.

"I wish we could."

That is all he would say and then he walked off to another part of the garden while Orihime remained standing next to the statues. For a time, Orihime did not move and might have been considered a fourth sculpture until a voice called out to her.

"There you are!"

Orihime turned and saw Retsu and Hisana making their way towards Orihime with smiles on their faces and some gardening tools in their hands. Something in her expression must have caught their attention because they looked at each other before coming alongside Orihime and Retsu spoke first asking if Orihime was all right.

Nodding furiously, Orihime said in her best cheery voice, "Oh yes! I'm just fine!"

Hisana and Retsu exchanged another look before they looked behind Orihime and noticed the statue and then Retsu asked, "Orihime, do you know who the girl is?"

Orihime understood exactly what Retsu was asking of her and responded, "Byakuya told me her name was Rukia. He said one day she was hurt pretty badly and you had to send her away and none of you have heard from her again."

There was another pause as the women looked at each other, then the statue and then back at Orihime. Hisana spoke next with a small, sad smile on her face.

"Rukia was my younger sister. When I married Byakuya, she was just a child and we had no other family so she came to live with me and my new family."

Smiling at Retsu, Hisana said softly, "They were all so kind and accepting of us both. It wasn't long before memories of our lives before we became a part of their family seemed liked distant dreams. Byakuya doesn't ever show his emotion easily, but with Rukia being a small, energetic and a child who wouldn't take no or the cold shoulder for an answer she managed to bring out a softer side in Byakuya."

Taking a shaky breath and indicating the two smaller figurines, Hisana said, "One day they made those figurines together. When they were done, Rukia came running outside to find everyone else and make sure we all came to admire their handiwork. She was in absolute raptures over Byakuya's artistic skills and proclaimed that one day she would be just as good as him."

Retsu rubbed Hisana's arm comfortingly as she added, "I am older than Byakuya so to Rukia he was, in more ways than one, a big brother and I think deep down he enjoyed taking on that role with Rukia. There were at least two instances where Rukia was running too quickly through the gardens, fell and scraped up her knees."

A smile similar to Hisana's crossed Retsu's features as she finished, "I am the official healer in our home, tending to all the cuts, bruises and the like, but in these instances Byakuya was first at Rukia's side. He would carry her into his portion of the gardens where he grows the most exquisite flowers, cleanse her cuts, bind them up and lift her up in his arms in order to show her some new flower he was beginning to experiment on."

Turning back to look at the statues, Orihime saw them in a new light. They were figurines crafted by an older brother and his younger sister. The sister admired and loved her brother with all her heart and wanted to do things that would please him. The brother in turn wanted to protect his younger sister from all manner of hurts and show her affection in his own way by giving her the gift of his time and undivided attention. It was almost an exact replica of the relationship Orihime had shared with her own brother.

With that thought, Orihime's heart gave a lurch and her gaze returned to the statue of the beaming Rukia. In a way, Orihime could understand the deep seated pain Byakuya must have been carrying for all these years and her eyes began to fill as she thought about the fact that he had had to live with this hidden wound for years rather than just months.

Orihime was sure that Retsu, Hisana and Jyuushiro had all done their utmost to try and help Byakuya carry his burden, but Orihime was also positive that in his own way Byakuya didn't want to fully tend to the wound. The moment he did so he would be forced to acknowledge that Rukia was lost to him, possibly forever. The pain of the wound her absence had left on his heart kept him from ever moving on and forgetting Rukia. In the back of her mind, a small voice said that she might just be imagining things, but a stronger voice within her soul told her that she was right.

The voice also reminded Orihime of her declaration when she had said that she wanted to bring happiness to others. She wasn't sure how she was going to accomplish this, but she was determined to find a way.

**Author's Note:**

Sorry it has taken me so long to update this story! What with the crazy month of December for work, break coming along and trying to write things for the holidays, then the actual holiday cheer and rush, spending time with the family and now the past couple of days battling some sort of something that was completely determined to force me to cough up a lung and possibly my stomach as well and my procrastinating nature...ok, enough with the excuses. I'm hoping to quickly get out at least another chapter before the weekend is out so that we can keep this story going!

Now, I know I took a few liberties with Byakuya and Rukia's characters, but here was my thinking. Hisana is still alive and Rukia was never abandoned, so I think both Byakuya and Rukia would be a lot happier in nature. I do see Byakuya as a protective older brother when Rukia is a grown woman, so I can only imagine what he might have been like if Rukia was a child. Hope you don't mind the changes!

As for Orihime determining to make Byakuya happy, I'm curious to see if anyone has a guess for how she might accomplish that. Her plan will be revealed in the next chapter or so and new characters will be introduced!

As always, enjoy!


	9. New Friends, Faint Memories

Hearts of Glass, Steel, Fire and Ice

"What are these?"

Retsu looked over at the plant Orihime was indicating, smiled and said, "Those are feverfew flowers. They can be used to help reduce fevers or to soothe an aching head."

Orihime nodded and turned again looking at the plants in such a way that she looked as if she wanted to burn the image of the daisy-like flowers into her memory. Her mouth also moved silently, repeating Retsu's explanation before she turned to another set of more leafy and slightly spiky plants.

Before Orihime could even ask, Retsu said, "And those are aloe plants. Very good for treating burns or other skin irritations."

Once again, Orihime seemed to focus all her energy on accurately filing away the information Retsu had just taught her. Retsu couldn't help the smile that spread across her face at her determined pupil's countenance, but then her deep-blue eyes became thoughtful and her expression changed to one of suppressed melancholy. The time had nearly come when she and the rest of her family would have to say farewell to their young friend.

Retsu was sure Orihime had no idea just how much time had passed since she first come to the house, but summer was now drawing to a close and fall was nearly upon them. Even before Orihime had arrived, Retsu and her entire family had known that they must help Orihime prepare for the journey that was to come by imparting what knowledge they could to her. They had all agreed and understood what was required of them in that regard, but Retsu was fairly certain that she was not alone in the feeling that she had had no idea just how heart-wrenching it would be when they were forced to say farewell to their 'adopted' family member.

In some ways, Orihime had managed to steal all their hearts the same way Rukia had all those years ago, but Retsu would never dream of saying the two girls were the same. They both had an infectious laugh, heart-warming smile and thirst for knowledge. However, in many ways, Orihime and Rukia were as different as the sun and moon. Orihime loved to tell entertaining, imaginative tales while Rukia preferred to express herself through more concrete art forms. When it came to filling the silence, Rukia didn't always feel it was necessary and would be happy to sit in silence with someone whereas Orihime thrived on listening to other people talk.

Hearing a noise behind them, Retsu turned to see Byakuya making his way through the gardens. Upon seeing her brother, Retsu's heart clenched slightly as she thought about the events of the past few weeks.

Ever since hearing about Byakuya's relationship with Rukia and his bond with her, Orihime had tried her best to try to help and befriend him. It had taken a few days, but little by little Byakuya began to warm to the energetic girl and her endearing ways in his own way. He had taught her the proper way to prune a rose bush, which flowers grew best in full sun or in half shade, and let her start to help him think of some new flower breeds he could cultivate. Orihime's idea of combining an apple blossom with a bluebell, crocus, dandelion and eglantine since they represent the first five letters of the alphabet and therefore could be christened 'ABCDE', pronounced 'ab-ce-dee', had earned her a slight upturning at the corners of Byakuya's mouth and a small spark of amusement in his stoic gaze.

In the past few weeks, however, Byakuya had begun distancing himself from Orihime. Retsu knew this was because Byakuya was steeling himself for yet another unwanted separation. He had grown more attached to Orihime than anyone, especially he himself, had anticipated, but unlike with Rukia whose need and reason for leaving them had been unexpected, Byakuya, Retsu, Jyuushiro and Hisana knew Orihime's departure was coming yet in some ways that only made it worse.

On Orihime's part, Byakuya's actions had not gone unnoticed and Retsu knew that Orihime felt that she must have done something wrong. Hurt Byakuya in some way. Said or done something to make him upset with her. As much as Retsu wished she could tell Orihime just how wrong those theories were, there was no way Retsu could tell Orihime what Byakuya was actually thinking and feeling without being forced to tell Orihime everything. About her upcoming journey, the possible dangers she would come up against, the friends she would make, the enemies she would unmask and so on. No, Retsu could not bring herself to take one burden off of Orihime's shoulders only to replace it with something far worse.

They continued working side by side until late afternoon, Orihime soaking up all Retsu's lessons like a thirsty sponge, when finally Retsu sat back and said, "Hisana and Jyuushiro are most likely finished preparing the afternoon meal."

She didn't have to say any more as Orihime hastily rose to her feet and said with a beaming smile, "I wonder what they made today?" before helping Retsu to rise and then falling into step with her mentor as they headed towards the house.

As they neared the back entrance, Retsu heard excited voices coming from inside the house. Two of the voices, Retsu knew were her husband and Hisana, but there were three other voices that Retsu knew just as well yet had not heard for several months.

A sudden thought struck Retsu so she turned to Orihime and said, "Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever told you that Jyuushiro and I-" but that was as far as she got for the very next moment two figures burst from the kitchen area, one chasing after the other.

"Get back here you little creep! What? Are you too scared to come back and say that again to my face!"

"Just try and catch me!"

Retsu stood frozen in surprise for a few moments before she took a step forward and said in her most quiet and silky smooth voice, "Ganju. Kukaku. Is that any way for you two to be acting in front of our guest?"

Despite the fact that both Ganju and Kukaku had been yelling at each other at the top of their lungs, immediately when Retsu began talking to them in that whisper soft tone they had ceased chasing each other through the gardens. They had turned towards their mother with wide-eyed expressions of surprise and dread as they waited to see what was going to happen next.

Turning to Orihime, Retsu gestured to the two teenagers and said, "As I was saying, Orihime, these are Jyuushiro and my children. May I introduce you to our daughter, Kukaku, and our son, Ganju."

"Don't forget about us, Mom," came a laughing voice from the kitchen that made Retsu smile in a more genuinely pleasant way.

"Of course not. Orihime, may I also introduce you to our son, Kaien, and our daughter-in-law, Miyako."

-

Orihime bowed politely to each new family member Retsu introduced to her and she took a moment to study each one in turn. Ganju looked sheepish, but he seemed like a nice person. His hair was held back by a green cloth that was wrapped around his head in a sort of turban. He looked to be about Orihime's own age. Kukaku was a little bit older than Ganju and while she had attempted to tame her own hair with a crimson colored turban similar to Ganju's, it was quite clear that Kukaku's hair was much more troublesome to tame, but she didn't seem to mind. Both Kukaku and Ganju had dark hair like Retsu and almost the same shade of brown in their eyes as Jyuushiro.

Turning her head slightly, Orihime could see by the way Kaien had his arm entwined with Miyako's that they were husband and wife. Kaien had an amused look on his face and his aqua blue eyes sparked with good humor. Beside him, Miyako was also smiling, but her smile was smaller and softer. Miyako carried herself with confidence and in an upright, lady-like manner, however, she was by no means aloof or conceited. Orihime thought that if any artists ever painted a picture of her, the title might have to be 'Portrait of a Lady'.

"It is a pleasure to meet you all," Orihime said sincerely.

Kaien gave Orihime a kind smile, which was very much like Jyuushiro's, and said, "It certainly looks as though you've adjusted to life around here quite nicely. I can't believe that you're lea-"

Squeezing her husband's arm slightly, Miyako said in a soft tone, "Husband."

Looking down at his wife, Kaien's eyes widened for a moment before he turned back to Orihime and said hastily, "That…you've only been her-"

"Husband."

"Well…I mean…what I'm trying to say is…what am I trying to say, Miyako?"

Miyako smiled at Orihime and said, "What my husband is trying to say is that we are so pleased to finally meet you. Father was just telling us about you and how you are such a capable student."

Hisana appeared behind Kaien and Miyako saying, "Now that we're all here, the meal is ready and we can all eat together."

While Orihime had been mildly curious about Kaien and Miyako's unorthodox behavior just then, as everyone went inside to eat and spend time together, those thoughts were pushed aside. She enjoyed talking and laughing with everyone gathered around the table. Even Byakuya seemed a little more at ease then he had been for a while.

The afternoon meal was cleared away and everyone went out into the back gardens to prepare to play a game. Orihime had been told that this was a game that their family always played when they were all home and able to participate. Retsu pulled Orihime aside as the others started clearing a space for them to play in order to explain the rules.

From what Orihime was able to gather, the family divided into three teams and each were allowed to select one 'base', one 'safe-house' and one 'jail'. Each team also had five colored poles that they were to keep in their 'base'. The teams were supposed to prevent the other teams from stealing their colored poles but instead trying to steal poles from the other teams. The 'safe-house' was a place where a member of that team could stop and rest for a maximum of two minutes without fear of being captured. Opponents could capture one another by managing to subdue them by any means necessary. The game lasted for two hours at which time each team would bring forth their poles and would count how many they had managed to protect of their own and how many they had managed to steal from others. Whoever had the most in both categories would win the game.

The team captains were Jyuushiro, Kaien and Byakuya. Jyuushiro chose Miyako and Ganju, Kaien selected Retsu and Hisana and Byakuya picked Orihime and Kukaku. Five minutes later, the game began in full force.

The one benefit and detractor about the whole game was that everyone was spread out all over the gardens. That meant that there were plenty of good hiding places to choose from for both you and your opponent.

Orihime began by flitting from one bush to another and somehow managed to find Team Jyuushiro's 'base'. Just as she was reaching out to take one of their poles, Orihime heard someone yell "Got you!" and the next moment a heavy weight tackled her to the ground. When she managed to catch her breath, Orihime saw that Ganju had knocked her over and he was grinning triumphantly down at her.

"You're so lucky! You're my first prisoner of this game!"

Not knowing what else to say, Orihime merely nodded and waiting for Ganju got up before she started to rise as well, resigned to her fate as his captive. The next moment, however, Ganju suddenly pitched forward and nearly knocked Orihime over again. Too surprised and confused to do anything, Orihime felt a hand grasp her arm and pull her away from the falling Ganju just in time. For a moment, Orihime stared down at Ganju's prone form before turning her attention to the hand still holding onto her arm and then up into the face of her rescuer. It was Byakuya.

He didn't look at Orihime as he said, "I will take him back to our jail. You take care of the pole."

Orihime nodded and watched Byakuya helped the slightly stunned Ganju away from the 'base' before she called after them, "Thank you for saving me."

Byakuya half turned around and Orihime could have sworn he gave her a ghost of a smile before turning and walking away.

The game continued on and Orihime couldn't remember a time when she had had so much fun. She managed to capture Jyuushiro, who good-naturedly chuckled as Orihime escorted him to 'jail' and said that he was almost glad for the time to rest his old bones. Then Orihime turned right around and got herself captured by Miyako, who was just as silent as she was graceful. And on it went until finally Orihime heard the gong to signal that the game was over.

After counting up all the teams poles, it was determined that Kaien's team was the winner as they had managed to keep two of their poles, capture three from Jyuushiro's team and one from Byakuya's team.

Looking around at his family, Jyuushiro smiled at everyone in turn as he said, "Nothing like a little game to help us bond together as a family after being apart for so long. Why don't we clean up now and all pitch in to help make the meal tonight?"

Everyone set to work with enthusiasm and conversation flowed freely as each person went about doing their bit to make sure the meal was finished on time. Retsu took it upon herself to 'patrol' around the kitchen in order to 'punish' anyone who decided to try and sneak bites of food here and there. The most frequent offender in that area was Ganju who just didn't seem to have a subtle bone in his body.

Finally the meal was set on the table and everyone gathered around. They were about to begin eating when a firm knock was heard at the door. Orihime was surprised to see everyone look up at each other in surprise before all their expressions turned to ones of what seemed like resignation.

Then most surprising of all Retsu turned to Orihime and asked, "Would you please go and invite our visitor to come and join us for dinner?"

Even though she was surprised, Orihime excused herself, got up and went to the door to do as Retsu had asked. When she opened the door, Orihime automatically began to greet the guest but as soon as she got a good look at just who, or more accurately what, was at the door the words died in her throat. Standing in front of her was a wolf. A wolf the size of a horse and whose fur was a deep crimson with darker, black patches scattered across its neck, back and torso.

At first, Orihime had been naturally surprised by the fact that there was a wolf standing there at the front door, but her instinct immediately told her that she had nothing to fear from this wolf. Instead, she now found her gaze riveted upon the wolf's eyes. They were a deep shade of brown…and they reminded her almost exactly of someone's eyes. Someone she knew. Someone who was important to her. However, she couldn't think of who this person was right at the moment.

Shaking herself out of her stupor, Orihime smiled at the wolf, bowed politely and said kindly, "Good evening. Please come in and join us for dinner."

The wolf's eyes seemed to smile slightly before it dipped its head in polite acknowledgement of Orihime's pleasantries and replied in a voice that didn't sound as if it had been used much recently, "Thank you. That is very kind of you."

As Orihime let him in, she said, "My name is Orihime Inoue."

The wolf looked at her for a few moments before he said, "You can call me Norainu."

Nodding, Orihime said, "It's nice to meet you," as she led him to the dining room where she introduced him to everyone. For a moment when Orihime got to Byakuya, she was almost positive that she saw him give Norainu a questioning look but it passed so quickly that she began to think that it was only her imagination.

Despite the fact that there was now an enormous wolf sitting and eating dinner in their midst, everyone acted, joked and talked with one another completely naturally and even included Norainu into their circle. This was one reason Orihime had really come to love this family: they accepted and loved anyone and everyone who stepped over their threshold.

After dinner was over, everyone went out into the back gardens in order to watch the sun go down. As Orihime looked up at the evening sky with its blazing colors of orange, pink and purple, something tugged at the back of Orihime's brain like a memory that wanted to surface but was having trouble doing so. Orihime was sure that it was something important and about someone who was very important to her, but she couldn't think of who it might be. Something about Norainu's eyes and a certain shade of orange in the sky was triggering this memory.

Feeling a hand on her arm, Orihime looked up to see Retsu returning her gaze as the woman asked, "Would you walk with me?"

Orihime nodded, rose, excused herself from the others and followed Retsu through the gardens. After having spent so much time wandering through the gardens, Orihime knew that Retsu was taking her to Rukia's statue. She followed in silence, waiting for Retsu to explain what was going on.

When they arrived at the three statues, for the space of about three minutes, Retsu said nothing until finally she began by softly asking, "Orihime, have you enjoyed your time here?"

Orihime blinked in surprise before she replied, "Of course. You've all been so kind to me and have taught me so many useful things. I can't remember a time when I've been so happy and content."

A sad smile stretched Retsu's lips as she said, "That's it exactly. You don't remember a time when you were happier because that is the way it had to be for a time."

Before Orihime could ask, Retsu turned to her and continued, "I cannot give you all the specifics, Orihime, but I can tell you that your coming here was no accident. You were meant to come here, spend time with my family and me and learn what you could from us before you continued on with your journey. In addition to all this, you also had to wait until your destined traveling companion could come and join you."

"What do you mean?"

Retsu took Orihime's hands in her own before she looked deep into Orihime's eyes and asked, "Orihime, before you came here you were searching for someone. Who was he?"

Orihime frowned in concentration before she said slowly, "I don't know. The memory is there in the back of my mind, but I can't seem to…wait. There's a face. It's very faint, but I know who he is. His name is…his name is…"

Orihime's eyes began filling with tears as she looked at Retsu and said, "I can't remember his name! I know he is someone very important to me and I know that I'm supposed to find him, but now I'm scared. Why have I forgotten him? Why can't I remember him?"

Reaching out to clasp Orihime's face between her hands, Retsu said, "Your memories are just harder to access here which is why you were brought here. You'll remember everything tomorrow morning."

"Why?"

Taking a deep breath, Retsu said slowly, "Because tomorrow you will be leaving with Norainu to continue on your journey."

**Author's Note:**

So, I'm curious to see what you guys make of this chapter and the new developments that are happening. Also, if you guys have figured out who Norainu is and why he has come to accompany Orihime on her journey.

Hope you guys enjoyed this and I'm so sorry for the late update!


	10. Brown Eyes, Blue Gaze

Hearts of Glass, Steel, Fire and Ice

When Retsu and Orihime arrived back at the house, Orihime was never sure how she managed to make it through the rest of the evening. Somehow she was able to automatically hold conversations with people even though her mind was not at all focused on anything around her. She felt as though she was in a kind of fog with nothing really sinking in.

That all changed the moment she laid her head on the pillow. Two things came into such sharp focus in her mind that unconsciously Orihime said them aloud.

"I have to find someone very important to me. I am leaving tomorrow morning."

The next moment, Orihime fell into a dead sleep.

In her dreams, Orihime was surrounded by brown. Four different kinds of brown. Four different sets of brown eyes to be exact.

The first set of brown eyes was a deep, rich color. They seemed to tell her that she was very precious to that person. That they loved her endlessly and they were so proud of her and the young lady she had become.

The second set was a similar shade of brown to the previous set. They were a deep brown, but unlike the first pair, they eyes did not speak of love or pride in her. They were full of cunning and seemed to be taunting her. They were full of secrets that almost all had to do with her. The eyes watched her much the same that a cat would if it was planning out how exactly it was going to catch a mouse.

The third pair of eyes was one that Orihime felt sure she had seen before, but at the same time was completely foreign to her. They were a slightly lighter shade of brown compared to the first two, but were still warm in color. The eyes spoke of a deep seated pain and regret. However, when those eyes looked at her, she thought she saw the smallest spark of hope enter them.

The last pair elicited the biggest reaction from Orihime's heart. Even though the irises were brown, behind the eyes Orihime could sense such an intense fire of determination it was almost as if the eyes were on fire. The brown was one of wood being burned up in a bonfire. While they had warmth to them, there was also something uncontrollable and rather dangerous in their depths. Despite this, Orihime felt no fear. She felt calm, reassured and yet with an intense longing and sense of desperation tugging at her heart.

Even though Orihime tossed and turned during the night, in the morning she remembered nothing of her dream. What she also never found out was that someone had kept watch over her that night and so was able to hear her muttering in her sleep. Out of all the incoherent sentences for most of the night, there was one name the sentinel outside her door was able to make out quite clearly.

"Ichigo…"

* * *

The next morning, Orihime woke up quite rested and temporarily forgot about her impending departure from her dear friends. Or it wouldn't be entirely inaccurate to call them her surrogate family.

After getting dressed and ready, Orihime made her way to the dining room, taking a moment outside the door to take a few deep breaths in order to compose her emotions and facial expressions. Trying to force away thoughts about 'This is going to be my last meal with everyone' Orihime put on her most cheery smile and entered the room with an equally cheery "Good morning everyone!" to which everyone responded in kind.

Shifting her gaze slightly, Orihime's eyes connected with Norainu's. Something about the color and the way in which they looked at her made her feel an odd sense of déjà vu. There was some sort of emotion lurking in those brown eyes that caused Orihime's heart to tense slightly, but then the next moment Ganju wrenched everyone's attention towards him when he started hacking and spluttering. It turned out that he had been eating far too quickly and taking too big of bites so that the result was that a combination of food and drink had made their way down his windpipe.

Kukaku gave her brother an unconcerned glance before she said under her breath, "Serves you right," and then continued eating.

Even Retsu got up from her place at the table indifferently and made her way over to check on her son. Orihime was the only one who was there almost immediately at Ganju's side trying to help him and figure out what was wrong with him at the same time.

It took less than a minute to straighten Ganju out and then Orihime sat down to eat her own breakfast. At first, Ganju seemed to have learned his lesson, but it was only a matter of time before he began stuffing his face at an alarming rate once again.

All too soon, breakfast was over and Orihime knew that the next step would be to pack up her things and head off into 'The Great Unknown' with a wolf she had met the night before. Sora had always said that he enjoyed life and observing people experiencing life because just when one began to get into a routine of the same old, same old something would happen to completely turn a person's life upside down and make things far more interesting for a time.

Orihime smiled at the thought and then the next moment fought the urge to cry. For the past couple of years it seemed as if life had just been turning her world upside down so that she would be sent reeling for a time until she managed to regain her feet and move forward but then some new twist would be sent her way so that she felt as if her world was falling into chaos. However, here with Retsu and her family, the world had ceased spinning and throwing her off-balance. She had experienced true peace here and Orihime knew that the moment she set foot outside these grounds the likelihood that the world would begin tilting once again was extremely high.

As she was carefully placing her belongings and other supplies into two big packs, Orihime was tempted to stay. She had a suspicion that no one in Retsu's family would protest if she decided to stay. A part of her didn't want to go and something told her that they were loath to let her leave. Apparently, Orihime had been going on an important journey before she arrived at Retsu's home, but she couldn't remember anything about it.

When she focused, she could remember a little about her brother, Sora, and about the house she had grown up in, but she try as she might other, more specific details seemed to be locked away in the back of her mind. Retsu had assured her that Orihime's memories would return once she left on her journey, but a part of Orihime asked herself if she really and truly wanted to continue the journey. If she really wanted to remember whatever it is that she had forgotten. Orihime instinctively knew that the memories were ones that would hurt deeply once she had them back, so did she really want to put herself through that?

There was a scratching sound at her door and Orihime opened it to reveal Norainu standing there. His deep brown eyes looked into hers and seemed to search for a moment before understanding dawned in them. Remembering her manners, Orihime invited the wolf in and he carefully made his way inside and sat next to her nearly packed luggage.

"When you've finished, you may load it onto my back. While we are traveling, you are more than welcome to ride on my back as well but it would likely be best for you to climb on once we get outside," stated Norainu matter-of-factly.

Orihime was about to protest, but Norainu went on saying, "Think of it like you are riding a horse, only this 'horse' will be able to carry on conversations with you and protect you when need be."

From the tone of his voice, Orihime knew that he would brook no argument, so she said simply, "I am very grateful to you. I only hope that I can find some way to repay you for your kindness."

Norainu's eyes became softer and slightly hopeful as he replied, "I believe you will find a way. Then again, friends really shouldn't talk about repaying one another. Friends do kindnesses for their friends because they want to."

With a much lighter heart, Orihime finished packing and loading the bags onto Norainu's back before following him out into the gardens to bid farewell to her adopted family. Looking around at all the faces she had come to know and love the weight began to settle over her heart again but she forced it away. The last thing she wanted to do was spoil these final moments by feeling all 'down in the dumps'.

Kaien and Miyako stepped forward first, hugged her and then Kaien said, "Even though we just met yesterday, Miyako and I will miss having your smile and laughter around here," to which Miyako added, "Have a safe journey," before they stepped back to make room for Ganju and Kukaku to nearly squeeze the living daylights out of their newly christened 'little sister'.

Jyuushiro helped Orihime disentangle her from her loving brother and sister before gently pulling her towards his own chest and saying, "It's never easy saying farewell to a loved one, but it's always made easier by the thought that partings usually don't last very long. I do hope to see you again really soon."

Hisana was next and while she didn't have any words of parting, Orihime could read everything that the older woman wanted to say in her eyes, which was just fine.

Lastly came Retsu, who held Orihime for a time before she whispered into the girl's ear, "You have such a big heart, Orihime, with so much love and compassion for everyone. Your smile and joyful spirit can brighten even the darkest places. These are your two most important strengths. They will be your most important weapons and defenses. Others will underestimate your worth and merit, but they will not be able to tear you down unless you yourself begin to doubt your worth and merit."

Then Retsu pulled away and Norainu knelt down next to Orihime in order to allow her to climb onto his back. As she lifted her leg over Norainu's back, Orihime lost her balance for a moment and felt a strong hand grab her own hand in order to steady her. She didn't let go of the hand even as she got herself settled, Norainu rose to his feet or even as Norainu started walking through the gardens in order to reach the border and leave the safety of Jyuushiro and Retsu's property.

Past the gardens, there was a path that led into a patch of woodlands and the moment Orihime crossed over into the woods, she was nearly overwhelmed by all the memories and emotions that flooded into her mind and heart. She remembered everything. Karakura Town. Sora's death. Urahara's Shop and all her friends there. Mostly, she remembered Ichigo. His scowl. His determined look as he claimed he would be a part of the Night Watch. His arguments with his dad or Urahara when they did something he found idiotic. His small smile when he would look at his sisters, his mom or even her. Especially, she remembered his eyes.

How could she have forgotten?

A light pressure on her hand snapped Orihime back to the present and she looked down to meet the deep blue gaze of Byakuya. The look in his eyes reminded her so much of Ichigo when he was concerned about her whether she had just tripped over something or had nearly fallen off a ladder in Urahara's Shop that Orihime involuntarily reached over with her free hand to gently place it on Byakuya's cheek. They remained like that for a time before Byakuya reached up, took both Orihime's hands in his own and placed something into her palm.

Looking down at her hands, Byakuya said simply, "Don't forget," to which Orihime looked down and saw that he had given her two hairpins in the exact shape and shade of the forget-me-nots surrounding Rukia's statue.

Orihime opened her mouth to say something, anything to let Byakuya know what she was feeling and thinking right now. That she was glad to have met him. That she didn't really want to leave. That she would treasure the pins always. And especially that no matter how long she lived, she would never forget him or the others.

In her heart, Orihime promised herself that if she succeeded in her journey and if she was able to come here again that she would do so. And maybe she wouldn't ever leave again.

"Be safe."

Orihime's eyes returned to Byakuya's and she knew that he understood because all the thoughts and emotions she had felt were the same as his. Words would simply have been redundant.

Carefully, Orihime nestled the pins into her long hair before reaching down to hold onto Norainu's long hair as she said firmly, "Let's go."

She didn't look back. The road stretched before her and now with the love and knowledge Retsu, Byakuya and the others had bestowed upon her as well as the friendship offered by Norainu, the journey didn't seem quite as daunting.

**Author's Note:**

And so the journey continues. Hoped you liked this part and, as always, if anything didn't make sense, just ask and I'll see if I can't clear it up a little better.

I'm curious to hear about who you think was watching over Orihime as she slept since I purposefully left that up to your interpretation.

Thank you guys for all your support and kind comments so far! They really mean a lot!


	11. Ephiphanies and Mixed Emotions

Hearts of Glass, Steel, Fire and Ice

"I've always wondered who came up with the names for the seasons. I mean 'spring' and 'fall' make sense as in the springtime flowers, plants and even people are 'springing' to life, while during the fall, leaves and other plants are 'falling' to the ground."

At first during their journey, Orihime and Norainu had gone along in silence, not really sure how to overcome this first obstacle. Eventually, Orihime's talkative and friendly nature had gotten the best of her and she began chatting away about anything and everything she could possibly think of. Norainu kept up a brisk pace, his gait comparable to a horse's gallop or canter at times, but still managed to take part in Orihime's conversation when required. However, he was mostly content to simply run and listen to her talk about her home, her brother and her friends back in Karakura Town.

Orihime adjusted herself slightly on Norainu's back as she went on, "But winter and summer just aren't the same. Their names don't really and truly describe what happens during those three months. And yet, just from hearing the word 'winter', my mind conjures up pictures of snow, ice, frost covered windows, sledding and all sorts of other things one sees or does during the winter months. Same with summer. It's rather interesting when you stop to think about it."

"That it is, now that you mention it," Norainu said with a smile in his voice.

A smile lighting her own features, Orihime asked, "This might seem like a silly question, but which is your favorite season?"

There was a short pause before Norainu replied thoughtfully, "Well, fall has always been somewhat special to me, but in many ways winter is my favorite of the seasons."

Orihime didn't feel the need to ask the next most obvious question and after a time, Norainu said, "I knew a girl once who embodied the essence of winter. She could be quite icy if you irritated her or did something stupid. She could also sparkle and her eyes would glisten like newly fallen snow in the sunlight when she laughed."

At his words, something clicked in Orihime's mind and she said immediately and with certainty, "You're talking about Rukia," then she quickly stuttered, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have blurted out like that. I wasn't thinking."

Norainu slowed his pace down slightly so that he could turn his head slightly and look at her with one of his warm, slightly sad brown eyes as he said, "No, you were absolutely right and there's nothing to forgive, Orihime."

Facing the road once again, Norainu picked up his pace as he said slowly, "Rukia was my dearest friend. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about her and wish that things might have turned out differently."

There was a long pause while Orihime absorbed this new information before she leaned forward, wrapped her arms around the wolf's neck and said softly, "There was a boy in Karakura and his name was Ichigo. We also grew up together and I can only think of a few times growing up when we didn't see each other for a day or so."

Hugging Norainu's neck a little tighter in an attempt to keep herself a little more composed, Orihime went on, "When we were twelve, Ichigo's mom was killed in front of us…by a panther."

The next moment, Orihime thought that Norainu was startled by her words as he seemed to lose his rhythm for a moment. However, as quickly as the sensation happened, Orihime realized they were running along just the same as before, so she gave the incident no mind.

"A panther you say?" asked Norainu, "What exactly happened?"

Orihime took a deep breath and allowed the memories to come to the forefront of her mind and said slowly, "Ichigo and I were talking as we sat next to a river and then we heard Ichigo's mom calling out to us. We turned and saw that she was bringing us out some lunch, so we got up and starting racing towards her. Next thing we knew, there was a panther chasing after us, Ichigo stepped in front of me in order to protect me and…" she stopped for a moment to take a few deep breaths before saying, "Mrs. Kurosaki somehow managed to jump in front of us…the panther just…"

"I understand," Norainu said gently.

Laying her head atop Norainu's as best she could, Orihime said sadly, "After that, Ichigo was never the same. He blamed himself and there was nothing I could do about it. Three years later he just…disappeared."

"He disappeared?" asked Norainu, "What do you mean?"

"It was a cold winter night and Ichigo had become a part of the Night Watch by then, so he was on patrol on the Karakura Wall. The next morning, they discovered that his post was abandoned but there were no footprints in the snow outside the wall so he couldn't have run away. There was no trace of him anywhere in Karakura, so no one is sure exactly what happened to him, but since no one could think of any reason why he would leave his family and the Night Watch with no explanation or warning, everyone simply assumed that he was dead."

There was another pause before Norainu asked, "So you decided to set out on your own to find Ichigo, see if he's all right or find out what happened to him and bring word back to his family and the people of Karakura?"

Taking another deep breath, Orihime said, "I didn't set out until just recently. Ichigo disappeared almost two years ago, but I didn't do anything for the longest time because I still had my older brother to think about."

"And what does your brother think about your little adventure?"

"Well," Orihime swallowed thickly, "I think he would be fine with this, but he was killed…by a panther…back in the summer."

Once again, at the word 'panther', Norainu seemed to react, but this time he didn't lose his footing. Rather, with her arms wrapped around his neck, Orihime noticed his heart rate speed up slightly at the word.

However, his voice was calm as he asked, "Another panther? That seems rather strange."

Nodding her head against Norainu's neck, Orihime replied, "That thought didn't really strike me before, but now that I think about it, I'm fairly positive that the panther who killed my brother was the same one who killed Ichigo's mom."

"What did it look like?"

Orihime thought for a moment before saying, "It seemed rather large, if I remember correctly. Its head was almost up to my chest and very strong looking. And its fur was a striking shade of blue. Also, both times, it disappeared before anyone else could see it."

Now, Orihime was sure that Norainu knew something of this panther since his pulse quickened again, but he said simply, "I see," before he took a breath and said, "Sorry. This whole discussion must be drudging up some highly unpleasant memories for you. Why don't we talk about something else?"

Even though she wanted to ask Norainu about the panther, Orihime knew that Norainu was right. Despite the fact that she had hope in the success of her quest, as the memories of Ichigo's loss and torn heart along with her brother's death flitted across her mind, Orihime felt her heart becoming more and more burdened. There would be time enough to find out what Norainu knew later on in their journey together.

For a time, they went along talking on more light-hearted subjects. Then, all of a sudden, Norainu stopped dead in his tracks and seemed to be sniffing the air. Sensing his air of suspicion, Orihime bit her tongue and did not ask what it was that was bothering Norainu.

Turning to the right, Norainu called out, "I smell you two over there. Who are you and what do you want?"

There was a series of delighted, childish giggles before a young girl's voice called out gleefully, "Oopsie Kenny! Looks like we've been caught!"

Another voice replied in an irritated, gruff tone, "Why do I bother listening to your stupid directions? You always get us caught!"

"Aww, don't be like that Kenny!" said the girl's voice soothingly, "The game wouldn't be nearly as much fun if we didn't get caught every once in a while."

"That's just the problem!" retorted the gruff voice, "Your lousy directions are always getting us caught, Yachiru! I should just leave you behind and stalk people by myself!"

"But you wouldn't have nearly as much without me, Kenny!"

Seeming to come to the end of his patience with the two voices, Norainu called out irritably, "Would you two quit bickering and come out onto the road where I can get a good look at you?"

In response to his demand, Orihime heard the sound of rustling leaves and snapping twigs for about ten seconds before a young man appeared beside the path. On his back, the young man was carrying a little girl.

The young man was probably in his early twenties as far as Orihime could tell. He had rough, thick black hair and an eye patch over his right eye. The girl on his back was grinning impishly while waving hand vigorously at Orihime in greeting. Her hair was curled at the ends and a light shade of pink, which really fascinated Orihime.

The young man named Kenny grinned at Norainu and said slowly, "Well, well, well. I hope you are half as tough as you talk and twice as strong as you look."

Norainu sounded slightly confused as he asked, "What?"

Kenny's grin lessened slightly as he replied, "I'm gonna fight you and you'd better be tough enough to give me a little fun."

Sitting up straight, Orihime said calmly and soothingly, "I don't think there's any reason for us to fight one another just yet. We don't even know each other's names."

Jerking a thumb at himself, Kenny said, "Kenpachi," pointing at the girl he said, "Yachiru," before finishing with, "There. Your turn."

Blinking in surprise, Orihime collected herself and said politely, "My name is Orihime and this is my friend, Norainu. It's a plea-"

Beginning to crack his knuckles, Kenpachi said dismissively, "Yeah, yeah, whatever," looking directly at Orihime, he said, "We're gonna fight now, so get off him."

Before either Orihime or Norainu could say anything, Yachiru saved them by grabbing two huge handfuls of Kenpachi's hair and saying forcefully, "Kenny! Don't forget what Rangiku told us! No fighting!"

Lurching backwards, Kenpachi yelled in anger, pain and irritation, "Knock it off you annoying pest! I don't care what Rangiku says, I want to fight this wolf!"

Pulling harder, Yachiru said more insistently, "No, no, no Kenny! Rangiku said no fighting before the wedding and we promised we wouldn't! We pinky promised! So NO FIGHTING!"

With an almighty yank, Yachiru caused Kenpachi to completely lose his balance and go crashing to the ground. Somehow, Yachiru managed to disentangle herself so that she wasn't crushed under Kenpachi's weight.

Hands on her hips, Yachiru frowned down at Kenpachi and said disapprovingly, "If you break a pinky promise then you'll get cut with a thousand hundred million knives and you won't be able to see the princess get married or eat all the yummy sweets they'll make for everybody! So no fighting Kenny!"

Slipping off Norainu's back, Orihime walked quickly over to check on Kenpachi and was immediately relieved to see that he was all right other than looking slightly dazed.

Turning to Yachiru, Orihime said politely, "My friend and I are traveling through here-"

Yachiru interrupted Orihime saying cheerfully, "I like you! Let's be friends!"

Blinking in surprise, Orihime couldn't help but smile and reply, "I would like that very much, Yachiru."

Grinning up at Orihime, Yachiru said, "I'll call you Ori-Dori, ok?" but before Orihime could reply, she grabbed Orihime's hand and said, "Now that you're my friend, Ori-Dori, you're coming with me to the castle to see the princess get married! And we'll eat all kinds of good sweets together and play games and have tons of fun!"

Nodding her head slowly, Orihime said, "That does sound nice Yachiru," looking at Norainu, Orihime half said, half asked, "If my friend thinks it's all right, I suppose we could postpone our trip for a few days."

Pulling Orihime along with her, Yachiru said, "Okey-dokey then! Let's go!" and without another backward glance, Yachiru set off with Orihime behind her.

Looking back, Orihime was relieved to see that Kenpachi seemed to have gathered his wits and was following them looking rather sulky while rubbing the back of his head and muttering. Norainu was also coming along behind them.

Yachiru was still chattering away and Orihime was only half listening to the little girl when suddenly something Yachiru said caught Orihime's attention.

"What did you just say, Yachiru?"

Not looking back, Yachiru giggled and said, "You're silly Ori-Dori! I said the princess is going to marry a man who scowls all the time, so I call him Mr. Frowny-Face. She didn't smile much before, but now that Princess-Peachy has found Mr. Frowny-Face, she smiles a lot more!"

For some reason, Orihime felt a little tug at her heart and so she asked, "What are Princess-Peachy and Mr. Frowny-Face like?"

Yachiru said brightly, "Oh, they bicker a bit and that just makes Princess-Peachy giggle and Mr. Frowny-Face go 'hmph' and cross his arms. Princess-Peachy like Mr. Frowny-Face's eyes. She told me that his eyes were sad at first when she met him, but now he doesn't look so lonely anymore.

"Princess-Peachy said that she was also feeling lonely before she met Mr. Frowny-Face, but now she feels happier because she has him around."

At Yachiru's words, Orihime felt a weight settle over her heart. Could it be? Could it really be Ichigo? Could she have already found Ichigo so quickly? And if so, why didn't she feel happier at this news? Ichigo was happy. He had found someone who loved him and who had managed to heal the hurt she hadn't been able to. And also, this princess seemed to have gone through some terrible pain of the heart just like Ichigo had and now with Ichigo by her side, this princess was able to find happiness again as well.

If this was the case, then Orihime should be overjoyed to be able to celebrate this wonderful occasion with her best friend and take the news back to Ichigo's family. Maybe she could come back again, this time with Isshin, Karin and Yuzu so that they could meet the newest member of their family.

As she continued walking and half paying attention to where she was going or what Yachiru was saying, Orihime found herself wrestling with those thoughts and the idea that she wished she and Norainu had never run into Kenpachi and Yachiru.

**Author's Note:**

Ok, just to reassure some of you, keep in mind that this story is FAR from over. And that's all I'll say about that.

Yachiru and Kenpachi were fun to play around with here and I hope you enjoyed their appearance as well. Hopefully, they seemed pretty much the way they usually are with a few exceptions. (P.S. I know Orihime's name was 'Boobies' but, call me a prude, I didn't want to have to type that one out all the time…)

More new characters to pop up in the next few chapters, but are there any requests for characters you'd like to see?

As always, hope you liked this chapter!


	12. Healing Tears

Hearts of Glass, Steel, Fire and Ice

They reached the castle about ten minutes later with Yachiru still chattering away excitedly with Norainu and Kenpachi trailing behind in silence. As for Orihime, while she had fought hard to keep up a cheerful countenance, her heart felt heavier under the burden of anxiety and guilt she had placed upon herself.

The little group was met in the castle courtyard by a tall, full-figured woman with long, dark blonde hair that fell past her waist. Her pretty face and stunning light blue eyes were slightly marred by the irritated frown pulling her features down. Her arms were crossed and Orihime was slightly afraid of what would happen once this woman got started on the lecture she was sure to give.

"Well Yachiru," said the woman slowly, "I see that once again you and Kenpachi have completely disregarded by strict instructions not go outside the castle walls for more than an hour. Do you know how much time has passed since you left?"

Yachiru beamed up at the woman unafraid as she responded, "You know I can't tell time, silly Mother Goose!"

Orihime could have sworn she saw the very corner of the woman's mouth twitch at the affectionate nickname, but the woman glared down at the young girl and said, "You can't keep playing the 'I'm-a-little-kid-and-so-don't-know-anything' card for much longer, Yachiru."

Turning her icy gaze upon Kenpachi, the woman demanded, "You, at the very least, should have been able to tell that the sun was far past its midway point and so therefore after noon."

Kenpachi crossed his arms and muttered something unintelligible, to which the woman replied, "I thought as much," before she said sternly, "Well, you two quit dawdling around here. There's work to be done and we need everyone to pitch in. Kenpachi, I think that you could help the men unloading all the barrels and crates of food and drink down in the kitchen area while you, Yachiru, should be able to help…somewhere."

From the hesitation in the woman's sentence, Orihime guessed that no matter where Yachiru was sent, something was probably going to turn out quite…unexpected and unique. Just hopefully it wouldn't be something so vital to the wedding that it caused a big uproar. At the thought of the wedding, Orihime's spirits sank once again before she was snapped back to reality when Yachiru spoke up next.

"I want to bring Ori-Dori with me! Then she can meet everybody here! And Wolfie-Poo (at that nickname for Norainu, Orihime wasn't sure if she wanted to cringe in embarrassment or start giggling) can go with Kenny to help out!"

The woman's eyes softened slightly as she said, "Maybe your friends can join you a little later, Yachiru. You get along for now and help while I take our guests to go and meet the prince and princess."

"Okey-dokey!" cried Yachiru in delight before she grabbed Kenpachi's hand and started dragging him away.

After Yachiru and Kenpachi were out of sight, the woman kept staring at the place they had disappeared from view and said in a thoughtful tone, "She's a scatter-brained little girl and there are times no one knows what to do with her, but she's got a good heart. Kenpachi would never admit it, but Yachiru's nearly got him wrapped around her finger. Not that she tries, that's just her way."

Shaking herself, the woman turned back to Orihime and Norainu and said politely, "My name is Rangiku Matsumoto. While technically I am the companion of the princess I also take on the role of housekeeper and manager of all big parties and events, such as this wedding."

At the mention of the wedding, Orihime's heart dropped but she forced herself to remain cheerful as she said, "Everyone seems so excited for the princess's special day. I'm sure she and her fiancé will be very happy together."

For a moment, Rangiku looked at Orihime shrewdly before she turned and said, "Come with me. I'll take you to meet the princess."

Falling into line behind Rangiku, Orihime was lead from the courtyard into a beautifully kept garden. They weren't quite as elaborate, interesting or varied as the gardens at Retsu's home, but even though she wasn't really paying attention, Orihime could see the gardens were stunning in their own way.

After about two minutes, Orihime saw the figure of a young woman a little older than herself sitting and reading on a stone bench underneath a large willow tree. The girl must have heard them approaching because she looked up from her book before setting it down on the bench next to her.

As Orihime got closer, she saw that the young woman had long, dark brown hair that was so loosely pulled up in a bun that some strands gently framed her face. Her face was pretty and soft featured, but her deep brown eyes spoke to Orihime's heart the most. In their depths, Orihime could see the expression of a deeply wounded and sad heart, but that now was beginning to heal and open up to the world again.

The moment Orihime saw the princess, her guilt increased tenfold. How could she possibly be jealous of someone like the princess? What right did she have to be anything other than happy for Ichigo and the princess? They had managed to make each other happy and help heal the other's wounded heart. That reason alone should make Orihime's own heart stop protesting at the thought of Ichigo falling for another woman, but Orihime's inner struggle continued up until the moment she stood face to face with the princess.

Before Rangiku could say anything, Orihime gave a polite curtsy and said in a soft voice, "My name is Orihime Inoue, Your Majesty, and this is my friend and traveling companion, Norainu. We came across Yachiru and Kenpachi in the woods and they graciously brought us here."

Keeping her eyes fixed upon the floor as she slowly straightened, Orihime finished with, "Also, let me be so forward as to extend my congratulations on your upcoming wedding. Your fiancé is a fine man and…I wish you both…happiness and long life together."

These last words were fairly ripped from her throat, or at least it seemed to Orihime. In truth, she spoke them in a slightly louder tone than before, almost as if she were trying to convince herself that she meant them with all her heart.

The princess seemed not to notice Orihime's struggles, reached out to clasp Orihime's hands in her own and waited for Orihime to look up at her before she said with a smile, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Orihime. I am Princess Momo Hinamori and I'm sorry I wasn't in the courtyard to greet you and your friend properly upon your arrival."

Looking around the garden, Princess Momo said winsomely, "I make my way to this spot when I need some time to relax and just be myself for a while. Reading books or just sitting and thinking always manages to help me pull myself away from any stress or anxiety I might have at that moment and then I will have the energy to go back to work in an hour or two."

Orihime was about to say something when Princess Momo seemed to realize what she had just implied and said hastily, "But I am very glad that Lady Rangiku brought you here to meet me since I do like to personally greet all guests who come to my home. Especially now with…my wedding…" she smiled wider and seemed to savor saying the words, "…approaching there are so many people arriving that I sometimes find myself worrying that I'm not being a good enough hostess to all my guests."

"Honestly Momo, with all your worrying you really will turn into a terrible hostess."

At the sound of the unfamiliar voice, Orihime whirled around and saw that it came from a young man of medium height and a slight, but powerful in its own way, frame. His hair was pure white and while it was not combed and slicked back properly, the white locks fell neatly and naturally into place. However, Orihime's eyes were drawn immediately to the young man's gaze since his eyes were an unusual, beautiful and almost hypnotizing shade of blue-green. Mostly blue, but with just the right amount of green added to make it look as though you were looking into the Karakura River on a clear summer's day.

Crossing his arms and leaning against the willow tree, the young man said dismissively, "The more you worry about things, the less energy you will have. The less energy you have, the less you will be able to be the proper princess and hostess you seem to believe you have to be. And then you actually will leave your guests with the impression that you are an incompetent hostess simply because you worried about that very thing happening in the first place."

Giving Princess Momo a meaningful look, he finished with, "So quit worrying so much about everything that might go wrong and just do what you can."

The princess had done her best not to show any emotion at the young man's lecture, but she failed miserably when she walked towards him slowly and said, "Toshiro, that was immensely rude of you to say."

Shrugging his shoulders and looking nonplussed in the other direction, Toshiro replied, "Yeah whatever. You'd better get used to it."

Reaching his side, Princess Momo couldn't help but grin as she kissed his cheek and said, "We'll see."

During this exchange, at first, Orihime had no idea what to make of it until finally she realized just who Toshiro was to the princess. This revelation slowly sank into her heart and mind so that she went from being torn between guilt and jealousy over her idea that Ichigo would be marrying another to being wracked with relief, guilt and shame at discovering her mistake.

Surprisingly, it was Toshiro who seemed to notice the change in Orihime first so that he pushed himself away from the tree and from the princess's side, walked quickly to Orihime's side in order to wrap an arm around her waist and slowly help her to sit on the recently vacated bench.

Once she was seated, Toshiro asked seriously, "Are you all right? Do you feel ill at all?"

At these words, Princess Momo immediately sat down next to Orihime and said in a flurry, "You're ill?! Why didn't you say something sooner? Quick Lady Rangiku! Fetch the physician while Toshiro and I will help Orihime to one of the guest rooms! Or maybe Norainu could help carr-"

Having been too stunned and overwhelmed to say anything at first, Orihime finally managed to lay a hand on the princess's arm and say quickly, "You don't have to fuss or go to any trouble on my account. I'm just fin-"

Shaking a finger in Orihime's face, Princess Momo said sternly, "Don't you dare tell me a fib! If you're just saying that-"

Waving her hands in front of her emphatically and shaking her head, Orihime said, "No, no! I really mean it! I didn't feel ill! I was just…"

When she trailed off and looked down at her hands dejectedly, Toshiro prodded gently, "You were just?"

Raising her head, Orihime said tearfully, "I'm such a terrible person!"

The princess, Toshiro and Rangiku all looked completely taken aback by Orihime's outburst, but she continued, saying, "When I first heard Yachiru going on about how 'Princess Peachy' and 'Mr. Frowny-Face' were going to be married I immediately assumed that she was talking about my friend Ichigo, whom I have been searching for with Norainu, and then I don't know what came over me, but I got jealous and I felt guilty for feeling that way and…oh…"

There was silence in the group with the exception of Orihime's suppressed sobs before Rangiku looked at the others, who nodded in agreement, before she put an arm around Orihime's shoulders and said soothingly, "There, there, Orihime. If you feel up to it, why don't you tell us your story from the beginning?"

It was a few minutes before Orihime had composed herself enough in order to speak coherently, but once she got started, she didn't stop. Not that any in the group was interested in interrupting Orihime's narrative.

After Orihime had finished her narrative, Rangiku wrapped her arms more securely around the young girl to draw her into a comforting embrace and said sympathetically, "I was wondering what that expression in your eyes was whenever someone mentioned the wedding or prince, but you shouldn't feel guilty over this misunderstanding."

Princess Momo also laid a comforting hand on Orihime's shoulder and allowed her tears to fall freely as she said, "I'm so sorry. You've been through so much already and coming here has only brought you more heartache."

Laying a hand on his fiancée's shoulder, Toshiro said matter-of-factly, "However, she is extremely fortunate to have come here because both you and Rangiku can somewhat relate to Orihime's pain."

Looking up at Toshiro in surprise, Orihime asked, "What do you mean?"

Toshiro's response was to look meaningfully at Rangiku for a few moments before the woman heaved a sigh and said slowly, "What he is trying to say is that I also lost someone I loved dearly to a blue panther."

Orihime pulled away from Rangiku's embrace in order to observe her face causing Rangiku's arms to slowly lower until they were resting in her lap as she told her story.

"I also grew up with a boy about my own age. His name was Gin. We would wander the woods together, talk for hours and sometimes play with the other village children, but there were not many days that we wouldn't spend together.

"As we reached our teens, I realized that I had begun falling in love with him. When I turned fifteen, Gin gave me a necklace he had made himself."

At these words, Rangiku began fingering the simple silver chain around her neck. From the chain dangled two objects: a ring big enough for a young man's finger and another, smaller version of the ring that would likely fit a young woman's finger.

Gazing down at the rings, Rangiku said winsomely, "The next year, he gave me this ring and he told me that he had made a matching one for himself. He called them 'promise rings' since he was about to go out into the world to explore, make his fortune and build a home somewhere. Gin planned to do it all in four years, so that when we were both twenty-one, he would come back for me, we would get married and then we would live together in whatever land he had chosen."

Taking in a deep, shaky breath, Rangiku went on, "The day before he left on his journey, I had made a picnic lunch and we went to eat it by a river near our village. On the banks of the river, we came across another young couple. One thing led to another and the four of us decided to spend the afternoon together chatting, eating, laughing and wading into the water every so often.

"The afternoon sun was quickly descending into the evening sky when all of a sudden, a blue panther jumped out of the forest and charged towards us."

Unconsciously, Rangiku's hand clenched her right shoulder while the other gripped the bench as she said in a half firm, half tremulous voice, "I can still feel the oppressive weight of that panther as it pinned me down. I can still feel and smell hot, sticky, atrocious breath as it opened its mouth above my head. One moment, I had been too stunned to move and then next thing I knew, I was trapped underneath this beast."

Suddenly, Rangiku blinked her eyes and seemed to come back to reality and then rose slowly, took a few steps away from the bench before turning back to her audience and saying slowly, "I closed my eyes and waited for the panther's roar to ring in my ears and for its claws and teeth to sink into my flesh. But those sounds and feelings never came."

Closing her eyes, Rangiku continued, "I must have passed out in fear because the only things I remember hearing were garbled and nonsensical. When I came to my senses, however, I discovered that the enormous weight of the panther was gone and I sat up to look around."

At this point, Rangiku's voice was choked by an unexpected sob to which Princess Momo's response was to hurry to the side of her friend in order to wrap one arm about the woman's shoulders and grip one of Rangiku's hands firmly in her own.

With the support of the princess, Rangiku seemed to summon enough strength to finish her story and said, "I saw Gin's body lying several feet away from me. I knew at once that he had saved me from the panther at the cost of his own life. Somehow, I managed to half stumble, half crawl my way over to his side, gather him into my arms and then look around at the rest of the riverbank.

"The other couple was nowhere to be seen, but as I looked towards the water, I saw evidence of the panther having caught one of them and…well, you get the idea."

Wiping a shaky hand across her eyes, Rangiku finished with, "Despite everything else, however, the worst of it all was Gin's face. When I looked down at him, he had a kind of smile stretching his lips. He had known exactly what would happen to him when he saved me from that panther and…he had died…happy…anyways."

After she had finished, Rangiku cleared her throat and said as she looked at the princess, "Like Toshiro said, however, I'm not the only one with a tale to tell."

Princess Momo said nothing for a few moments and then she said softly, "My story is much different because I was so blinded by my love for a certain man that I was willing to do almost anything for him.

"He came into my life very suddenly, but on the other hand subtly so that it wasn't long before I could barely remember what my life had been like before him. He was attentive to every little thing, an avid listener, a soothing presence in times of stress, a wise counselor and everything else any woman might desire in a man. Whatever I needed at that moment, he became for me.

"In return for all the services and favors he gave to me, I willingly and endlessly tried to return and even to go beyond what he did for me. As a result, I paid no heed to anyone else, other than him.

"Even though I am only technically a princess, I am the ruler of my kingdom and will be crowned queen on the day of my marriage. I began ruling at a young age and so constantly felt out of my depth when it came to matters of state, so it wasn't long after he arrived that I gave him almost full control over everything.

"To make a long story short, it was eventually brought to my attention just how much misery had befallen my people because of my relationship with this man. Even though it broke my heart to do so, I banished him from my kingdom and I have heard nothing of him since."

When Princess Momo failed to continue, Toshiro picked up the narrative and said, "To back track a little, Rangiku and I were both raised by my grandmother for years. Rangiku is not my sister or relative by blood, but I love and respect her as if she were. After Gin's death, it was only a matter of weeks before my grandmother passed away as well. Having no other blood ties to our home, Rangiku and I started traveling and eventually came here to Princess Momo's palace where Rangiku was employed as one of the princess's handmaidens and I became the Royal Advisor's secretary and assistant.

"As I worked under the Royal Advisor, I discovered just how he was bringing about the ruin and downfall of the kingdom and so brought it to the princess's attention."

Orihime spoke for the first time in a while as she said matter-of-factly, "And as a result, he was banished."

Nodding her head, Princess Momo waved her hand and said, "After he was gone, I was heartbroken for a long time, but with Toshiro's help and guidance, I managed to pick up the broken pieces of my life and heart and start putting them back together."

Smiling through her tears at her beloved, the princess said, "Even though I can now rule on my own, with Toshiro's help and strength I hope to make this country prosper even more for the people."

Wiping away tears from her own eyes, Orihime stepped forward to envelop the princess and Rangiku in a hug as she said softly, "Thank you," before all three young women began crying together.

Each had different wounds inflicted upon their hearts, but one universal healing balm is that of a friend holding you as you cry and shedding their own tears. Toshiro and Norainu quietly made their way out of the garden to allow that healing process to take full effect.

**Author's Note:**

Ok, I'm probably going to have Yachiru jump out and give everyone a good laugh in the next chapter or something to lighten the mood before we move on to the wedding. I mean, what goes better after a huge cry-fest than good humor and sweet wedding scenes?

Anyway, things are becoming connected and starting to really get going, in my opinion. We still have a ways to go, but I'm sure some of you can guess how things are going to end up and who's who.

Hope you liked this new chapter and hopefully I'll have the next finished really soon!


	13. Opaque Reflections

Hearts of Glass, Steel, Fire and Ice

_The faint scent of tears_  
_on my rain soaked cheeks._  
_The warm look on the face_  
_Of travelers._

She was singing again. He hadn't heard her sing since the day they had met. At least, he was fairly positive that she had been singing when they had first met. He couldn't be certain, though. His memory of that day and any before it were cloudy, but why be so concerned by trifles?

_The music from our childhood_  
_faintly echoes in the background._  
_The memories I hopelessly try to remember_  
_wander aimlessly._

As he made his way purposefully towards the Great Hall, he carefully went through the list of items he had to report to the princess. She had given him a task to fulfill and since the day of his initiation, he had done his utmost to prove himself worthy of her trust.

_But with these tiny wings, launched by my dreams_  
_over distant oceans and skies_  
_we'll soar together_  
_to a place where memories never fade._

Pushing open the huge, double doors that led into the Great Hall, as he entered the room his gaze shifted automatically to where the princess was standing. The walls of the room were almost entirely made up of floor to ceiling glass panes, which allowed the princess to look out and observe the world from a distance.

Outside, a ferocious thunderstorm seemed on the verge of ripping the world apart. One would think that a battle between the elements and hundreds of panels of fragile glass would end decisively within the first few minutes of the storm. However, as in this case, just because something appeared to be delicate and easily breakable didn't mean it actually was.

_You light up the way for me_  
_in the darkness of night._  
_Oh, that warm look_  
_on your face._

It was at this point that he actually began to listen to what the princess was singing. What she was saying. And as the sound of the words mixed together with the melody, it stirred something within his heart and in his memory.

At first, it was only flashes. Smiling lips. Boisterous laughter. Dark hair seeming to fly across his vision. Sitting by a river. None of it very clear or very coherent, but the images caused him to feel as if a part of him was missing.

_I miss you so much._

As the princess was singing the last phrase, he noticed that the storm had begun to abate. Looking up towards the slowly lightening clouds, in his mind's eye, he saw a pair of warm, kind and gentle gray eyes and he felt another slight tug on his emotions.

However, just as quickly as the moment of lucidity had come, it was gone again and he remembered that he was truly here to give a report to the princess. His duty was to her and to him fulfilling his duty was the only thing that mattered.

* * *

For a time she remained motionless, staring out at the clearing skies and rain-soaked landscape. Soon enough, it would be time for the weather to become colder and the rain to freeze and either become fluffy snow or hardened hail pebbles.

However, for the time being, even though the weather was becoming cooler, all manner of life forms were still holding onto every last bit of life. Animals were scurrying around collecting every bit of food they could find before they tucked themselves away for winter. Plant life was also preparing for their form of hibernation by allowing their leaves to change color before being forced to relinquish their hold on their red, golden and brown coverings and be left completely barren during the snowy months.

For some reason she couldn't explain, she had always been quite partial to the fall season. Maybe it had something to do with the colors, or maybe it had to do with the fact that people and animals were still highly inclined to work, play and roam outdoors. Whatever the reason, she enjoyed observing the miracle of the fall season unfold year after year even if she couldn't venture outside her protective walls to revel in the delights of fall herself.

Turning away from the window just enough to see her subordinate and companion standing and waiting for her to take notice of him, she was struck again by just how much his eyes affected her. She had never really been able to put her finger on what it was about his eyes, but just looking at them stirred up things in her mind and heart that part of her desperately wanted to understand while the other part of her desperately wanted to keep those memories and emotions locked away.

The night that she had met him and he had heard her song, she had somehow known that he needed to come with her. That he was to play a part in helping to bring back her memories. That meant that her life was about to be altered, whether for better or worse only time would tell.

**Author's Note:**

Not nearly as long as I usually do, but I just need to get back into the swing of writing and get motivated again.

Sorry that I haven't updated this story in a while, however, there were some dramatic incidents at work that were really taking up a lot of my time in having to deal with them so that by the time I got home, I really didn't have the energy or creative desire to write anything. It was nothing too serious, just draining and time consuming. And that's not to say that everything is 'hunkey dorey' at this point, but I think for the time being there should be a bit of smooth sailing.

Anyway, if you haven't already guessed, the two people here were Ichigo and Rukia. You guys have been asking for an update on what those two are up to and so I decided to show that in this chapter. Don't worry about them too much, especially because I don't want Ichigo to remember Orihime or his family right now. That will come later. He is experiencing something similar to what Orihime went through, only his case is more severe. Nothing that can't be cured though, once the right healer comes along.

Hope you liked it!


	14. Marital Beginnings Before Partings

Hearts of Glass, Steel, Fire and Ice

The three days leading up to the wedding were the absolute perfect weather. The sun was shining, the temperature was not too hot with a nice breeze rustling the trees, clothes and hair just right and all over the castle there was a flurry of industrious behavior. The beloved princess was getting married and everything had to be just right for her and her future husband.

Then the day of the wedding dawned and what began as a light drizzle from a slightly overcast sky gradually worsened and turned into a pouring rain that threatened to become a full-force thunderstorm. Many in the castle were concerned about how this unfortunate weather would affect the princess since there were superstitions about how stormy weather on a wedding day would mark the marriage to be the same way. However, word was quickly spread by the attendants of the princess that there was no need to worry. Princess Momo was in high spirits in spite of the weather and was as anxious and giddy as any other bride would be on her special day.

In Princess Momo's chamber, Orihime stood off to the side and watched in awe as Rangiku organized all the attendants and transformed the already blushing and beautiful princess into a radiant, angelic creature all in white. The dress was made of silk with a form-fitting bodice and a flowing train behind her. The sleeves reached her elbows and then hung down about a foot or so from there. The bodice of the dress was laced with ribbons of azure blue, glittering gold and peach-pink before they were wrapped around behind her back and braided until they reached almost the end of the dress's train. The cut at the top of the dress showed off Princess Momo's collarbone and a little of her shoulders, but was still quite modest. Around her neck was hung a long string of coral pink and white pearls with four sapphires set at even intervals around the strand.

As for her face and hair, Rangiku almost magically captured the look of a girl becoming a woman and a princess becoming a queen. Princess Momo's brown eyes were gently encircled by azure kohl to match her ribbon, the slightest hint of blush enhanced the already beautifully flushed cheeks and a deep red stain was lightly applied to the lips to enhance their fullness and to show off the white teeth when she smiled brilliantly. The princess's bangs were teased and curled so that they framed the oval shape of her face. Her normal practice of catching her hair up in a bun was altered slightly so that half her hair hung loose and curling about her shoulders and down her back, while the other half was caught up in tiny braids and curls with a small string of pearls and pins with sapphires interwoven in the bun.

Finally, Rangiku heaved a deep sigh of exhausted satisfaction as she said drily, "My brother had better make a comment on how you look today or I'll just-" but she was cut off from finishing that thought when the princess threw her arms around the older woman's neck.

In an awed and grateful whisper, the princess said brokenly, "You are so wonderful…it's all so perfect…so grateful…everything…everyone…you…Toshiro…"

Rangiku returned Princess Momo's embrace for a second or two before she gripped her shoulders and told the princess sharply, "Don't you dare start crying on me! It's nearly time for the ceremony and I have to finish getting ready, so I don't have time to fix you up again. You hear me?"

The princess nodded furiously and started waving her hands frantically in front of her face before Rangiku rolled her eyes in mock exasperation and thrust a fan into the younger woman's hands. Turning her back on the princess and heading over to where her dress was laid out, Orihime saw clearly the soft expression on Rangiku's face and the slight sparkle gathering in her eyes.

About a half hour later, Orihime was happily situated in the castle's cathedral (which was connected to the castle so that one could walk from one to the other without getting caught in the rain) in the front row with Norainu sitting next to her in the aisle. The princess's court was settled in the pews along with various dignitaries from various other parts of the kingdom to extend greetings and congratulations on the princess's nuptials. The castle staff was also in attendance, with some of them who had been serving the princess since her birth making absolutely sure that they had handkerchiefs ready to go.

Then, crammed into every available crevice and even standing outside in the pouring rain, were the princess's subjects. Farmers, millers, cobblers, bakers, blacksmiths, weavers and on and on it went. All with beaming faces, waiting for their princess to appear.

At the front of the church, Toshiro stood tall and stiff with an unreadable expression on his face while a kindly looking priest stood smiling serenely at the gathering. However, Orihime could see by the way he was almost imperceptibly tapping, clenching and relaxing his fingers at his side that Toshiro was nervous.

The murmuring of the crowd immediately died when the large pipe organ began to reverberate around the cathedral. All eyes turned towards the door and they stood simultaneously, waiting with bated breath. A chorus of soft gasps and murmurs of pleasure from the back told Orihime that the princess bride had arrived followed by her attendants. However, because of the large crowd and the fact that she was on the far left of the cathedral, Orihime could not watch the processional just yet. Her eyes, though, were fixed on the groom and his reactions as he turned around to wait for his bride to make her way to him.

Even though it seemed like a long time to her, Orihime was positive that the wait for Princess Momo to reach Toshiro must have felt like an absolute eternity to him. Finally, the princess walked slowly but purposefully up to the altar and the groom was able to turn and face his bride.

At first, Toshiro looked at the princess as if he didn't know who she was, so his eyes darted from her hair, to her dress, to her jewelry before his gaze halted at her eyes. Even though from where she sat Orihime could not see the princess's gaze, she was sure that those deep, brown eyes were looking into the teal ones with all the love and excitement that Orihime could feel radiating from the princess. Toshiro's response was to give Princess Momo a half grin, take both her hands in his and raise them to his lips. Even though the sound did not pass her ears, Orihime felt the crowd give a sigh of contentment at the tableau of love and affection before them. A second later, Orihime did catch the sound of sniffles being muffled by handkerchiefs.

Beaming at the pair in front of him, the priest allowed a few more seconds to elapse before he officially began the ceremony. Vows were repeated, rings were exchanged and hands were joined while outside the rain continued to fall unheeded even by those it was drenching.

Then the priest reached the end of the ceremony and declared in ringing tones, "May you always need one another, not to fill an emptiness, but to help each other know your fullness. May you want one another, but not out of lack. May you embrace one another, but not encircle one another. May you succeed in all important ways with each other, and not fail in the little graces. May you have happiness, and may you find it in making one another happy. May you have love, and may you find it in loving one another. Go forward from this place with my blessing and the blessings of all those gathered here who have borne witness to your vows to cleave to one another from this day until your last as husband and wife."

There was a brief pause as Princess Momo and the newly made Prince Toshiro stood looking at one another. Outside, the rain began to abate and the clouds grew lighter, but everyone's attention was riveted on the couple in front of the altar.

Then Yachiru (who better to break the spell cast over everyone?) whispered loud enough for her voice to reverberate all over the cathedral, "Kenny, why are Princess-Peachy and Prince Frowny-Face just staring at each other? Are they going to do something or just stand there all day and make us wait even longer to eat? I'm starving!"

At those words, Princess Momo flushed and ducked her head, while Prince Toshiro's eyes darted briefly to where Yachiru was sitting before he smirked and looked back at his new wife. Orihime could have sworn she also heard him give a small snort of laughter as well, but the next moment she was too absorbed in watching the prince gently grasp the chin of his princess and raise her face until she was looking at him again.

As one, the prince and princess leaned towards each other until their lips met. At nearly the exact same moment, the clouds broke apart to reveal the sun, which shone through the stained glass windows and threw a blaze of multi-colored light on the newly married couple. The wondrous and glorious sight fully broke the spell of silence placed over the crowd as they erupted into cheers, whoops and shouts of excitement that seemed to make the walls of the cathedral tremble.

Standing up to applaud the royal wedded couple, Orihime found her gaze drifting over to where Rangiku stood off to the side and beaming at her adopted brother and the young woman she could now call 'sister'. The older woman's smile was bittersweet and Orihime could tell that while mostly Rangiku was celebrating with the young couple, a part of her was remembering the young man whom she had loved dearly. Thus, it was no surprise to Orihime to see two small, glistening objects moving down Rangiku's cheeks.

Orihime felt a tug at her own heart as the image of her own beloved Ichigo passed before her mind's eye. Only one pair of eyes observed the twin tears that fell from Orihime's eyes before they were swiftly dealt with…a pair of brown eyes looking at her with a gaze that understood completely what she was thinking and feeling since they were thinking and feeling the same way.

* * *

The usual standard for celebrating a royal wedding in those parts was about a week…in honor of Prince Toshiro and Princess Momo's marriage their subjects extended the period of revelry for almost a month's time. Day after day, presents from well-wishers would pile up in the castle courtyard. One fine Wednesday the courtyard was so packed with packages that one could barely walk anywhere without almost knocking something over.

In that time, Orihime spent her days playing games with Kenpachi and Yachiru, helping Rangiku organize the presents before putting them in their proper places, and then spending the evenings chatting with Yachiru, Kenpachi, Rangiku and the royal couple for hours on end while sitting on the floor and leaning against Norainu, who would always lay down behind her.

As more and more time elapsed, Orihime found herself becoming more and more torn between the feeling of duty that she must continue on with her quest and the strong urge to remain here with her new friends in safety and comfort. Unlike before, there was no one there telling her when she had to leave and Orihime was positive by the way Rangiku, Prince Toshiro and Princess Momo tactfully avoided bringing up the subject of what had brought her here in the first place that they didn't want her to leave any time soon.

Then one night as they all sat one night gazing into the soothing fire in the hearth in companionable silence, Norainu said one word in a low, rumbling voice that spoke with conviction and yet a hint of reluctance.

"Tomorrow."

There was nothing more to be said after that, only preparations to be made so that by the time the sun began to rise, all Orihime's belongings had been packed up neatly (her wardrobe had been significantly added to during her stay in the castle) and packages of food had been prepared that would last for about a month or possibly longer if rationed properly, all of which were piled up on three horses. At first, Orihime tried to protest that it was all too much, that they had been more than generous already, but Rangiku quickly cut her off.

"If you think for one instant that we'd send you off into the Great Unknown without some basic provisions and a few creature comforts, then you obviously don't know us very well," declared Rangiku with one hand on her hip while the other wagged a finger under Orihime's nose as she went on, "We wouldn't send even someone we didn't like away with only the clothes on their back, so what makes you think we'd let you leave in that condition?"

Before Rangiku could really begin lecturing the wide-eyed Orihime, Prince Toshiro laid a hand on his sister's shoulder and said in a low voice, "All right, Sis. I think she gets the idea. They need to get underway."

With that remark, they all fell silent for a few moments before Yachiru crept forward, hugged Orihime tightly around the middle and said quietly, "You have to promise."

Looking down at her young friend as she wrapped her arms around the smaller body, Orihime asked, "Promise what?"

Yachiru's bright green eyes gazed up into Orihime's with a determined yet pleading expression as she replied, "Promise that when you find your Mr. Frowny-Face that you'll come back and play with me and Kenny again. And that you'll bring Wolfie-Poo too."

Squeezing her a little tighter, Orihime bent down to kiss the top of the girl's head as she said in a whisper, "I promise."

Slowly and almost torturously, Orihime extracted herself from Yachiru's embrace and turned to her other friends. No other words were spoken as they took turns embracing their young friend and then helping her to mount Norainu.

As she felt Norainu shift for a moment underneath her before walking out of the courtyard, Orihime kept her eyes riveted on the road in front of her. She knew that if she turned around to face her friends once more that the single tear making its way down her cheek would immediately multiply a hundredfold.

**Author's Note:**

My goodness, I'm so slow...anyways, I hope to finish this story very soon. At this point, I think I have about one more set of characters to introduce in the next chapter and that might be about it. Wonder if any of you would care to guess who they might be?

Now, I am going to do something that I haven't done since 'Transforming Love', but I'd like to thank everyone specifically who has favorited/followed this story either since the beginning or recently. I respond to all signed reviews, but I'd also like to show my appreciation and gratitude to those who have supported me in the aforementioned ways: BeInfanitexx, Devil's-Butterfly-Maid, Fer-chan.7, Generalhyna, JaNnY-jEaH-jAcY, JustPlainDontAsk, Magdalena88, MissLadyK18, Neon Spirit, OnePrincess, The Failing Shadow, Vodka21, amichalap, foxfang27, naleah, rocknrolla575, Renting, TheWorldOfJub, c83gilles, naruhinasauluv, sunflowerspot, witchsoul531. Also, to each anonymous reviewer whom I could not respond to personally, thank you for taking the time to let me know what you think of my story. It means more to me then I can possibly say.

This chapter had some fairly lengthy descriptions and not a lot of dialogue, and I hope that was fine to read. Let me know if anything didn't quite add up and I'll try to help out as best I can.


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